Eight junior faculty begin Mentored Career Development KL2 Program
Penn State researchers with varied research interests, including identifying mental health risk factors, improving quality of life for aging adults, and combatting chronic disease in vulnerable populations, have embarked upon a training program in clinical and translational sciences.
The Mentored…
White children are especially likely to be overdiagnosed and overtreated for ADHD, according to a new study
By Paul L. Morgan, Eberly Fellow, Professor of Education and Demography, and Director of SSRI's Center for Educational Disparities Research, Penn State, for The Conversation
White children are especially likely to be overdiagnosed and overtreated for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder during…
Why Social Science? - Because It Generates Solutions That Can Reduce Firearm-Related Harms
This week's Why Social Science? post comes from Rebecca Cunningham, M.D., who writes about the role social scientists may play in reducing firearm injury through advising on policy changes and building an evidence base.
By Rebecca Cunningham, M.D., Vice President for Research, University of…
Buss one of five named 2022 Big Ten Academic Alliance Department Executive Officer Fellows
The Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) Department Executive Officers (DEO) program has gained five additional fellows from the Penn State ranks.
The BTAA is the academic consortium of the Big Ten universities and the United States’ preeminent model for effective collaboration among research…
Suicide vulnerability index, machine learning model help predict counties’ risk
Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States, but the models that have been used to predict suicide rates weight risk factors equally and rely on data for large geographic areas, limiting the precision of the predictions, according to Penn State researchers. Now, the researchers have…
Intensifying heat waves threaten South Asia’s struggling farmers – many of them women
By Heather Randell, Assistant Professor of Rural Sociology and Demography and SSRI cofund, Penn State and Emily M L Southard, Ph.D. Candidate in Rural Sociology and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Penn State, for The Conversation
Sitting in a semi-circle in the yard outside of a village school…
Program helps new parents build strong, loving bonds and teamwork skills
Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development, a scientific organization dedicated to evaluating programs designed to promote the well-being of youth, has recently designated Family Foundations as a "Certified Model Program." Family Foundations is an evidence-based program developed by Mark Feinberg,…
Depression in fathers and children linked, regardless of genetic relatedness
Adolescent depression and behavior problems are on the rise due to many factors, but parental depression is contributing to the increase in their children regardless of whether they are genetically related, say researchers from Penn State and Michigan State.
The work appears in the Cambridge…
SSRI's Dr. Frances Keesler Graham Early Career Professorship RFA deadline Sept. 9
The Social Science Research Institute’s Dr. Frances Keesler Graham Early Career Professorship provides supplemental funding to social and behavioral science faculty members in the interdisciplinary fields of psychological and brain science whose research is focused on relationships between the…
Podcast episode discusses college students and mental health
The Social Science Research Institute’s Evidence-to-Impact Podcast returns for a third season with its eighteenth episode, “The Perfect Storm: College Students, Mental Health, and the Sense of Belonging on Campus.”
The podcast’s moderator, Michael Donovan, the associate director of the Evidence-to-…
Helping babies to sleep more
Over the last decade, researchers and staff working on Penn State’s INSIGHT study have trained new mothers in skills that — among other things — help newborns sleep more during the night. New research from Penn State’s Center for Childhood Obesity Research (CCOR) shows that second children in these…
Unemployment associated with worse mental and physical health later in life
When and how often a person experiences unemployment in their 20s, 30s and 40s has serious implications for their health later in life, which could be in part due to a lack of access to health care while unemployed, according to new research.
The researchers found that people who had little…
Older adults more likely to have multiple health ailments than prior generations
Later-born generations of older adults in the United States are more likely to have a greater number of chronic health conditions than the generations that preceded them, according to a study conducted by Penn State and Texas State University.
According to the researchers, the increasing frequency…
Losing a grandmother may trigger rise in depression for some of her survivors
Losing a beloved family member is never easy, but a new study suggests the loss of a grandmother in particular may have repercussions for the loved ones she leaves behind.
The researchers found that for up to seven years after the death of their grandmother, adolescent boys had a 50% increase in…
Sharing source-backed information can help reduce COVID-19 misinformation online
If you see fake news about COVID-19 circulating on your social media feeds, say something — if you have a reliable source to back it up. You could help other users to be less susceptible to misinformation, according to a new study by researchers at the Penn State College of Information Sciences and…
New study shows links between family dynamics and COVID-19 preventative measures
New research from Penn State suggests that supporting strong family relationships and reducing chaos at home may increase the likelihood that parents and children will engage in behaviors intended to prevent transmission of the COVID-19 virus.
Researchers from the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention…
Insights from Experts: Researching potential solutions to gun violence
While school shootings may appear to be quite common, they represent only a small fraction of the gun violence that occurs in the U.S. each year.
Although no action we take can bring back those lost in these acts of violence, we can ensure our reactions are grounded in research evidence…
Firearm injuries undermine mental, physical, and financial health
By Keren Landman for Vox
In his speech last Thursday about the Robb Elementary School massacre in Uvalde, Texas, President Joe Biden spoke about a young student who’d averted the shooter’s attention by smearing her classmate’s blood on her face.
“Imagine what it would be like for her to walk down…
SSRI funding boosts interdisciplinary research
Three Penn State research teams were recently awarded Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) pilot funding to foster interdisciplinary research that addresses human and social problems.
The large pilot awards enable the development of new collaborations to pursue novel and high impact research in…
Penn State researchers study adolescents' life aspirations in Cambodia
Adolescents are tasked with navigating competing priorities, including whether to marry, have children, pursue a job/career, go to college, and contribute to society. A paper recently published in Developmental Psychology describes one of the first studies to examine how adolescents in a developing…
Revised Standards for Human Subjects Research Updated
The criteria to resume in-person observational research without additional review has been updated. InfoReady review is no longer required for home studies, as long as they do not target high-risk participants; study staff must be fully vaccinated and remain masked during the study.…
Kindergarten children with behavior problems more likely to be bullied
Kindergarten children who engage in aggressive or impulsive behaviors, such as arguing or getting angry, are more likely to be bullied as they age, according to a new study led by a Penn State College of Education researcher.
“We’re able to give an empirical answer to specific groups who may be…
Why Social Science? - Because It Shows Us How Families Can Thrive
This week's Why Social Science? post comes from Norma J. Bond Burgess, President of the National Council on Family Relations, who writes about the importance and role of family science in understanding and improving family relationships.
By Norma J. Bond Burgess, Ph.D., President, National Council…
Sibling interactions impact child well-being in Latinx children
Most children in the U.S. grow up with siblings, yet the role of sibling relations in child development and well-being is relatively understudied, especially among families of color. Researchers at Penn State, Arizona State University, and Harvard are working together to study these dynamics in…
Annual substance use and addiction conference examines community solutions
The Penn State Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction (CSUA) hosted its third annual conference, “Community Approaches to Substance Use and Addiction” on Monday, May 3.
Held virtually via Zoom and drawing over 120 attendees throughout the day, the conference kicked off with a welcome…