Childhood gender nonconformity in boys linked to early androgens
In laboratory animals, sex differences in behavior occur because different hormone levels produced by males and females influence patterns of gene expression in the developing brain. However, the origins of sex differences in human behavior are not as well understood, according to a team of…
School boundary changes and diversification in a suburban school district topic of new PPN brief
A recent policy brief by the Pennsylvania Population Network in collaboration with the Center for Education and Civil Rights at Penn State demonstrates diversification of suburban communities do not necessarily translate into school-level integration. This is partly due to school attendance zone…
HHD Dean's Lecture Series special event to focus on vaccine hesitancy
The College of Health and Human Development Dean’s Lecture Series will host a special event focused on vaccine hesitancy.
Delivered by Daniel Salmon, professor of international health and health, behavior and society and director of the Institute for Vaccine Safety at Johns Hopkins University's…
HHD professor and graduate students “rappel for recovery”
As part of National Recovery Month, Hobart ‘Bo’ Cleveland, SSRI cofunded faculty member and professor of human development and family studies, Erik Dolgoff, graduate student in human development and family studies, and Samuel Wakely Stull, graduate student in biobehavioral health, recently…
Applications now open for translational research Early-Stage Investigator Training Program (KL2)
Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute is now accepting applications for its Early-Stage Investigator Training Program (KL2) to provide research training. The two-year program is funded through a National Institutes of Health KL2 grant that is a part of Penn State’s Clinical and…
Morgan quoted in article about China's screen time ban
(Reuters) - Raleigh Smith Duttweiler was folding laundry in her Ohio home, her three children playing the video game Minecraft upstairs, when she heard an NPR story about new rules in China that forbid teenagers and children under age 18 from playing video games for more than three hours a week.
“…
Investigating the Adolescent Brain Through Film Watching
Adolescence provides a unique opportunity for neuroscientists to understand an important in-between step in brain development. Straddling the worlds between adulthood and childhood, adolescents often are expected to take on more responsibility and independence, yet their brains are still not fully…
Enforcement of Penn State COVID-19 policies for faculty
Due to the increase in COVID-19 cases across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Penn State implemented measures to support the health and safety of our workforce, students,
and community and to minimize spread of the virus. Per policy AD101 (COVID-19) all employees are required to adhere to these…
People often avoid feeling compassion for others, feel it's a lot of effort
Compassion helps us relate to and feel sympathy for others as they experience hardships, but a new study suggests some people may actively avoid feeling compassion when given the choice.
In a series of studies, the researchers found that when given the option, people often chose to avoid feeling…
Report finds lack of teacher diversity in Pennsylvania
Research on racial desegregation and inequality in K-12 schools has consistently demonstrated the benefits of school integration for students but according to Penn State College of Education researchers, teacher diversity is also important for providing students with a well-rounded educational…
EIC Podcast Episode 14: Navigating PA’s Child Welfare System and Issues of Child Maltreatment
On the latest Evidence-to-Impact Podcast, we explored Pennsylvania’s child welfare system and issues of child maltreatment through the lens of an existing partnership between Penn State and government partners. We spoke to Jennie Noll, Ph.D., professor of human development and family studies and…
Registration is open for 'Uncover the Power of Observational Studies'
Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute will present "Uncover the Power of Observational Studies" at its next Research Methods Seminar Series from 4 to 5 p.m. on Sept. 14. This seminar series is held virtually.
The Research Methods Seminar Series features statisticians and…
Data4Action September Project Update
The initial survey of the Data4Action (D4A) project was completed by more than 10,000 respondents and included questions about the economic, employment, and health impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. More than 2,000 respondents also participated in biological testing, with the fourth wave of…
2021 Family symposium to focus on environmental impact to relationships and well-being
Penn State’s 29th annual Symposium on Family Issues will examine the role of the physical environment in family relationships, behaviors, and well-being, with a focus on disasters, climate change, and the built environment.
“Environmental Impacts on Families: Change, Challenge, and Adaptation” will…
Moral Agency Workshop
The Moral Agency Workshop is an interdisciplinary group of faculty and students who do work broadly related to ethical and moral decision-making. The workshop is one of the central features of the Moral Agency and Moral Development initiative in the Rock Ethics Institute.
The group convenes once a…
Astrophysicists, social scientists to probe the universe's deepest mysteries
The LSST Corporation (LSSTC), a nonprofit consortium of approximately 30 research Institutions including Penn State, has received $7 million to establish the LSSTC Catalyst Fellowship funded by the John Templeton Foundation. The fellowships will support early-career researchers in astrophysics and…
Helping special education teachers under stress
Special education teachers are at heightened risk for stress and burnout, which negatively impacts their effectiveness and well-being. With a new five-year, $4 million grant from the Institute of Educational Sciences, Penn State and Georgia State University (GSU) researchers are teaming up with…
16th Annual De Jong Lecture in Social Demography taking place on Oct. 1
“Surviving Two Epidemics: Resilience and Health in the Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health 1998-2021” will be presented by Hans-Peter Kohler at Penn State's 16th annual De Jong Lecture in Social Demography Oct. 1, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. in The Living Center, Henderson Building, and virtually…
Life Unites Us' campaign receives grant from PA Department of Drug and Alcohol
The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol (DDAP) recently awarded multiple faculty members, staff and units from Penn State Harrisburg, Penn State College of Medicine's Project ECHO and Addiction Center for Translation, and additional Penn State campuses a $…
Authenticity in the USA: How Springsteen's music stayed true through the years
Bruce Springsteen has made a long career singing about his blue-collar, working class roots. But despite reaching super stardom since releasing his first album in the 1970s, a recent analysis found that Springsteen’s music has stayed “authentic” over time.
The study’s researchers examined the…
Counting pandemic behavior to inform public health decisions
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many significant changes to our lives, but one of the most visible signals of this has been the proliferation of masks and other face-coverings in public spaces. In a recent study published in the Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness journal, Penn State…
World-renowned data science experts to discuss the future of digital fairness
The ever-growing power of data requires an ever-deepening responsibility on the part of data scientists to use that power fairly and equitably. Recognizing this, Penn State’s Institute for Computational and Data Sciences (ICDS) will host a symposium this fall aimed at fostering digital fairness.…
Consortium on Addiction and Substance Use changes name
The Social Science Research Institute’s Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse has changed its name to the Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction (CSUA).
Approved earlier this year and informally announced during CSUA’s annual conference in May, the name change better reflects the…
OSVPR FAQs for Research
With Penn State's new masking requirements, we have updated our FAQs for Research. Highlights include:
· All individuals inside university buildings, including labs, must wear masks, even if everyone in the lab is vaccinated.
· If people are traveling in a car together for university business…
Closeness with dads may play special role in how kids weather adolescence
Adolescence can be an emotionally turbulent time, but new research at Penn State found that close, supportive relationships with parents — especially dads — at key points during adolescence can help stave off certain adjustment problems.
The researchers examined how emotionally close and supportive…