Survey Research Center names Miranda Kaye as new director
Miranda Kaye has been appointed as the new director at the Survey Research Center at Penn State. She will begin on Sept. 1, succeeding Diana Crom, who is retiring from Penn State after many years of service.
Kaye completed her B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies at Cornell University, her…
Professor shares tips on managing stress and building resilience
Heidemarie Laurent, who became Penn State's second Bennett Pierce Professor of Caring and Compassion in July, conducts cutting-edge research on how interpersonal relationships — starting with experiences in the womb and continuing to develop throughout life — shape people’s ability to handle stress…
How behaviors can inform COVID-19 health campaigns
As the pandemic continues, implementing effective public health campaigns to improve vaccination rates and encourage personal behaviors to control the spread of the virus may be necessary.
Penn State researchers are exploring behaviors for slowing and stopping the spread of COVID-19, such as…
Crom set to retire
After years of strong leadership, Director of Operations Diana Crom is retiring from the Survey Research Center (SRC) at the end of August. SSRI and the SRC have greatly benefited from her dedication to providing outstanding customer service and working collaboratively with PIs and their research…
Why Social Science? - Because It Can Help Employers Compassionately Plan for Returning to the Office
By Sunita Sah, PhD, KPMG Professor of Management Studies, University of Cambridge
After a year of social distancing, mask wearing and – for millions – working from home, many employers are eager to bring their staff back to the office. But for many, the prospect of readjusting to in-…
Four themes identified as contributors to diseases of despair in Pennsylvania
Financial instability, lack of infrastructure, a deteriorating sense of community and family fragmentation are key contributors to diseases of despair in Pennsylvania communities, according to Penn State College of Medicine and Highmark Health researchers. The researchers conducted four…
Townhall for Postdoctoral Scholars and Fellows
The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA) is organizing a town hall meeting for all postdoctoral scholars and fellows on July 27, 2021 from 11:00 a.m. to noon. The goal of the town hall is to discuss the impact of the pandemic on postdoctoral training and career development. We understand that in…
Solutions Network Conference to focus on innovative research methods
The 2021 Child Maltreatment Solutions Network Conference, “Innovative Methods in Child Maltreatment Research,” will focus on the latest science surrounding the research of child maltreatment.
The conference will be held in person at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center Sept. 2-3. Before…
Black women with ADHD start healing, with a diagnosis at last
CEDR Director and PRI associate Paul Morgan and his research team's IES-supported research was recently cited in a Washington Post story discussing the intersections of race, gender, and disability, found here.
Interactive media reduce negative reactions to health messages, boost compliance
People often react negatively to health messages because they tend to dictate what we can and cannot do, but new research reveals that interactive media can soften negative reactions -- or reactance -- to health messages that are distributed online.
In a study, Penn State and Stony Brook…
PRI's Brian King named head of the Department of Geography
Brian King, professor of geography, associate head for the department’s resident graduate programs and Population Research Institute associate, has been appointed head of the Department of Geography. He began on July 1.
King succeeds Cynthia Brewer, who will remain an active member of the faculty…
Flood Risk is Higher in Rural and Disadvantaged Communities
A joint research brief by Penn State's Danielle Rhubert, assistant professor of biobehavioral health and Population Research Institute associate, and Yu Sun, Ph.D. candidate in sociology at Syracuse University, addresses how flood risk varies across places with different demographic and social…
Pathways training program receives National Institute on Aging grant award
The Center for Healthy Aging’s Pathways T32 Training Program supports the next generation of scientists in identifying psychosocial determinants and biological pathways that regulate healthy and unhealthy aging. The program, which provides pre- and post-doctoral scientists with foundational…
Penn State Security Center announces Fall 2021 Grant Program
The Penn State Center for Security Research and Education (CSRE) is announcing its Fall 2021 Grant Program to support security-related scholarship and educational programs at Penn State. University faculty and researchers are eligible to apply by Sept. 30. The primary grant categories include…
New EIC Podcast - Unemployment and the Labor Market
This month on the Evidence-to-Impact Podcast, we continue the Pandemic Perspective series and examine how the pandemic impacted unemployment and the labor market.
To debunk some of the concerns and myths of unemployment and dive into the shifting economy, we spoke to Sarah Damaske, Ph.D., associate…
COVID-19 and The Commonwealth: County-Level Differences in Vaccination and Death Rates
A recent policy brief by the Pennsylvania Population Network at Penn State shows the “great differences” in COVID-19 vaccination rates across the Commonwealth. Written by Cassandra Krencisz, Anna E. Shetler, Samiha Taseen and Raeven Faye Chandler, this report explores these differences and analyzes…
Morgan named AERA Fellow
CEDR Director and PRI Affiliate Paul Morgan, the Harry & Marion Eberly Faculty Fellow and professor of education (education theory and policy) in the Penn State College of Education, is one of 19 exemplary scholars chosen by the American Educational Research Association (AERA) as 2021 AERA…
Hydration can impact pregnancy and birth outcomes
Water needs increase during pregnancy to support fetal development and maternal health, however little is known about the relationship between hydration status and outcomes on both mother and child. A Penn State study recently examined the hydration status of pregnant women, the impact of a…
The U.S. Spends Less Than Nearly Every Country on Unemployment. That's Why People Can't Get Jobs.
By Sarah Damaske for Time
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported significant job growth in June: 850,000 new jobs. But with the unemployment rate stubbornly stuck at 5.9 percent, the debate about whether generous federal unemployment benefits keep people from returning to work continues. Last…
SPR 'Abstract of Distinction' award goes to Research-to-Policy Collaborative
A symposium organized by Assistant Research Professor and Co-Director of the Research-to-Policy Collaborative (RPC) Taylor Scott won an 'Abstract of Distinction' Award at the 2021 Annual Meeting of the Society for Prevention Research (SPR) held June 2-4.
More information about the…
Serving larger portions of veggies may increase young kids' veggie consumption
It can be difficult to get young kids to eat enough vegetables, but a new Penn State study found that simply adding more veggies to their plates resulted in children consuming more vegetables at the meal.
The researchers found that when they doubled the amount of corn and broccoli served at a meal…
New book: Time-Varying Effect Modeling for the Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences
This book, co-authored by Stephanie Lanza, Penn State professor of biobehavioral health and director of the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center (PRC); and Ashley Linden-Carmichael, PRC assistant research professor, is the first to introduce applied behavioral, social, and health sciences…
Why Social Science? - Because Trans Activism Can Change How We Understand Language
By Aris Keshav, UC Santa Barbara
If you're reading this, you've probably already encountered transgender linguistic activism. When people introduce themselves, for example, it's increasingly common to share pronouns and ask what others use, instead of assuming the best way to refer to them based on…
SAFE-T Center awarded grant to expand training, establish workforce advancement
Sexual assault victims have better outcomes when they receive specialized care, yet there is a shortage of trained sexual-assault nurses across the country, especially in rural areas.
A $1.5 million, three-year grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration will allow the Penn State’s…
Engage Podcast highlights project
Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute released the latest episode of its Engage Podcast discussing research into e-cigarettes. Andrea Hobkirk, Ph.D., an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavior health, discusses her work into how the brain responds to flavored e-cigarettes…