Impacts of the coronavirus on access to controlled substances
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many unexpected changes to our lives, including limited access to healthcare and controlled substance prescriptions. In this post, Chan Shen, Penn State Cancer Institute, discusses her research using the Texas PDMP database to examine the filling of opioids and…
People with autism may have large deficits in facial recognition
The ability to recognize faces varies greatly, but individuals with autism spectrum disorders can especially struggle, having huge implications for social interaction. Penn State researchers, for the first time, recently analyzed 40 years of autism data to determine deficits in face recognition.…
Parent behaviors supporting children's independence vary by family risk
Parental responses that support children’s independence are less common in families facing more risk factors. This may be true regardless of whether parents are responding to children’s on- or off-task behavior, according to Penn State researchers.
According to Catherine Diercks, doctoral candidate…
Podcast features researchers collecting local COVID-19 data for action
On Oct. 19, The Symbiotic Podcast teamed up with the hosts of Podward State — a Penn State student-produced podcast — to interview researchers working on a profoundly collaborative project designed to measure multiple impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on residents and students in Centre County,…
New study will examine women with opioid-use disorder in criminal justice system
A new five-year, $842,000 grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) will allow Penn State researchers to examine opioid-use disorder among criminal justice-involved (CJI) women.
Abenaa Jones, assistant professor of human development and…
A Symbiotic Short: Collecting COVID-19 Data for Action
This short teaser describes a uniquely collaborative effort led by Penn State research scientists to measure the social, economic health-related impacts of COVID-19 on the population of Centre County, PA. A full podcast episode, including an audio-only version and transcript, is available at www.…
Noll named American Psychological Association Fellow
Jennie Noll, director of Penn State’s Child Maltreatment Solutions Network and professor of human development and family studies, was recently awarded fellow status in the American Psychological Association (APA), Division 37, the Society for Child and Family Policy and Practice, for her…
Why Social Science? Because Misogyny Is Still Alive and Well and Women Still Don’t “Rule” Equally to Me
By Lori M. Poloni-Staudinger, PhD (Northern Arizona University), J. Cherie Strachan, PhD (Central Michigan University), Candice D. Ortbals, PhD (Abilene Christian University), and Shannon Jenkins, PhD (University of Massachusetts Dartmouth)
Fifty years after Ruth Bader Ginsberg worked to secure…
Hispanics live longer than most Americans, but will the US obesity epidemic change things?
In this article for "The Conversation", SSRI cofunds and PRI affiliates Michelle Frisco and Jenny Van Hook discuss their latest study suggesting that Hispanic immigrants will continue to enjoy longer lives than U.S.-born whites in the near future; but the life expectancy of U.S.-born Hispanics may…
New EIC podcast on income inequality
SSRI's latest Evidence-to-Impact Podcast episode features a discussion with Alexis Santos, assistant professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Penn State, and David Saunders, director of the Office of Health Equity for the Pennsylvania Department of Health, about…
Diabetes prevention project needs participants
Penn State researchers are now actively recruiting adults to participate in online focus groups related to the prevention of Type II diabetes. Compensation of $25 will be provided for those that volunteer.
The online focus group will last around an hour and a half and include questions regarding…
Update on In-Person Human Subjects Research
Since July, the University has been allowing a limited number of in-person human subjects research projects to resume following the process outlined here: Procedures: Request to Conduct In-Person Human Subjects Research During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Thus far, only on-campus research has been…
Impacts of the coronavirus on social support and mental health
The COVID-19 pandemic represents an unprecedented source of stress for today’s college students. In addition to the physical health threat COVID-19 poses to students and their loved ones, the psychological impact of the pandemic has been profound, with stress, anxiety, and depressive…
Researchers study trends in Pennsylvania school reopening plans
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented numerous challenges to school districts across the nation as they have debated options for educating students safely. According to researchers in Penn State’s College of Education, the decision by Pennsylvania school districts to re-open schools in-person,…
New website launches to support communities in preventing youth substance use
A new website, located at prosper.psu.edu, will aid in recruiting Pennsylvania communities and families to participate in PROSPER, or PROmoting School-community-university Partnerships to Enhance Resilience, a program proven to reduce use throughout entire communities by working with middle school…
Impacts of gambling in Pennsylvania to be explored
Penn State researchers are exploring unknown territory when it comes to gambling in the state of Pennsylvania.
Glenn Sterner, assistant professor of criminal justice at Penn State Abington and coordinator of the Greater Philadelphia Office of the Criminal Justice Research Center (CJRC), has been…
Clinical and Translational Science Institute launches Engage podcast
Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute recently launched a podcast called Engage. Each podcast features a Penn State expert discussing the research process or how health research benefits the University's neighbors.
“Education is an important mission for our institute…
Bullying prevention to be the focus of Oct. 29 Bennett Lecture
Leading bullying-prevention expert Dorothy Espelage, William C. Friday Distinguished Professor of Education at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, will deliver a virtual lecture from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Oct. 29 titled, “Addressing Bullying and School Violence and Promoting School…
Intervention improves sense of belonging for minoritized students
Broad-access institutions — colleges and universities that are relatively affordable and less selective than elite institutions — open doors for many students from disadvantaged social backgrounds who might not otherwise pursue higher education. Yet these institutions struggle with persistence and…
Family Symposium to focus on parent-child separations
What do incarceration, migration or deportation, and military deployment have in common? All are likely to separate a child from their parent, which has implications on a child’s well-being.
Penn State’s 28th annual Symposium on Family Issues will focus on these specific circumstances of parent-…
Using wearable technology to prevent kidney stones
idney stones are a painful and expensive medical problem, and people who suffer from kidney stones once are likely to experience them a second time. Recurrence can often be prevented if patients increase urine output by increasing the amount of water that they drink. Though this may seem easy,…
Reflections from Living in Sweden during COVID-19
Read about Lara Fowler, senior lecturer in the School of International Affairs in Penn State Law, and her family’s experiences living in Sweden as visiting scholars during the pandemic. In the first post, Fowler describes the unique dynamics of Sweden, including its health care system, citizens’…
Protocols to make data on kids secure, shareable eventually may help families
Researchers in developmental psychology face a perplexing challenge: They know that collecting and sharing data about children can lead to real benefits for kids and their families, but they also recognize that some kinds of data like video or audio recordings risk violating the privacy of these…
New resources available for underrepresented, marginalized faculty members
New support for faculty members from underrepresented racial and ethnic minority backgrounds and other marginalized identities has been launched to provide multiple career advancement resources for faculty, as well as academic leaders interested in supplementing efforts to build a more inclusive…
Public health preparedness master's students take on COVID-19-related projects
When COVID-19 gained pandemic status in the spring, students in health-related fields across the country saw topics from their courses and training become a reality.
For Heather Schubert and Jennie Kriznik, recent graduates of the master of professional studies in homeland security…