How understanding neighborhoods can help reduce tobacco use
Jan 4, 2022
A Penn State researcher testing a new way to assess tobacco use with a neighborhood mapping platform and in-person interviews has found that community engagement is key to addressing risky health behaviors.Cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United…
Youth with mental illness, substance-misuse histories at risk of opioid misuse
Nov 23, 2021
Opioid misuse is a devastating problem in the U.S. and a leading cause of death among adolescents and young adults. Penn State College of Medicine researchers found young people with certain mental health conditions and histories of substance misuse may have an increased risk of being diagnosed…
Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction launches new website
Nov 9, 2021
The Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction (CSUA), a unit of the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI), has launched its new website.The new website corresponds to a name update, from the "Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse" to the "Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction," an effort…
Penn State receives a five-year, nearly $6 million grant to study factors promoting early childhood development
Oct 18, 2021
The effects of genetics, home environment, and prenatal substance use on child health and brain development are largely unknown, even though pregnancy and early childhood are incredibly important periods of growth. To address this knowledge gap, Penn State was recently awarded a five-year, $5.8…
Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction seeking applicants for Community Fellows Program
Oct 5, 2021
The Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction (CSUA), part of the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) at Penn State, has announced an invitation for its Community Fellows Program.The Community Fellows Program, a funding mechanism of CSUA and the SSRI, provides support for faculty seeking to…
Education project to help improve data on drug overdose deaths
Sep 27, 2021
A new Penn State-led project is educating coroners, medical examiners, and others in the death certifier community in Pennsylvania about the reporting of substances associated with accidental overdose.The project, known as the Death Certifier Education Project, is a collaborative effort with the…
Can mindful yoga reduce opioid dependence?
Sep 27, 2021
With more than 100 people dying from opioid overdoses each day in the U.S., new approaches to treating opioid-use disorders are needed. Emma Rose, assistant research professor with Penn State's Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center, is leading a study that adds twice-weekly mindfulness-…
Five faculty members join Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction
Sep 13, 2021
Penn State’s Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction (CSUA) recently announced five new co-funded faculty members who will join the consortium in the 2021-22 academic year: Kristina Brant, Sarah Brothers, Brandy Henry, Jennifer Nyland, and Sujeong Park.Kristina Brant will start her position as…
HHD professor and graduate students “rappel for recovery”
Sep 7, 2021
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…
Life Unites Us' campaign receives grant from PA Department of Drug and Alcohol
Aug 18, 2021
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 $4.5 million contract to continue…
New book: Time-Varying Effect Modeling for the Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences
Jul 7, 2021
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…
Engage Podcast highlights project
Jun 28, 2021
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…
Human development and family studies professor joins Recovery Rising initiative
Jun 22, 2021
H. Harrington ‘Bo’ Cleveland, professor of human development and family studies at Penn State and SSRI cofunded faculty member, has been appointed to the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs’ Recovery Rising initiative.Recovery Rising works to foster a resilient, diverse and…
Training scientists in substance use prevention the focus of $3.2 million grant
Jun 13, 2021
A $3.2 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) will fund the continuation of Penn State's Prevention and Methodology Training (PAMT) program, which focuses on training the next generation of scientists in preventing substance use and addiction.Effective strategies to prevent…
Annual substance-use conference examines cross-systems solutions
May 26, 2021
The Penn State Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse (CCSA) hosted its second annual conference, “Addressing Substance Use: Cross-Systems Solutions,” on Monday, May 3.Held virtually via Zoom and drawing over 120 attendees throughout the day, the conference kicked off with a welcome from Stephanie…
How drunk is 'drunk?' New scale helps predict negative drinking effects
May 24, 2021
The words young adults use to describe how they feel when they have been drinking alcohol are a key to understanding whether they will engage in risky behaviors such as driving under the influence. A new scale for researchers developed at Penn State has been shown effective in gauging how young…
Are more parents letting their teens drink during the pandemic?
May 11, 2021
COVID-19 stay-at-home orders during spring 2020 dramatically changed daily life and created significant challenges for families. A new study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that 1 in 6 parents first allowed their adolescent children to have an alcoholic drink with their families…
Addressing stigma and discrimination one story at a time
Mar 23, 2021
The Story Powered Initiative is a newly relaunched nationally focused initiative that addresses stigma and discrimination through sharing individual stories. Founded and led by Glenn Sterner, assistant professor of criminal justice at Penn State Abington and Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse (…
Penn State researchers combat problems of substance misuse
Mar 23, 2021
The misuse of alcohol, opioids, and other substances poses many serious, well-known risks to people’s health and communities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, economic stress, social isolation, and anxiety about the future may have deepened the public health emergency posed by substance misuse and…
Annual substance use and addiction conference to be held virtually on May 3
Mar 17, 2021
Penn State’s Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse (CCSA) will hold its second annual conference to bring together researchers, practitioners, policymakers, foundation representatives and the public to discuss significant and emerging problems in combating substance use and addiction.“Addressing…
Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse seeks applications for seed grant program
Mar 8, 2021
The Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse (CCSA), part of the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) at Penn State, has announced an invitation for Level 2 pilot research projects aimed at addressing issues related to substance use and addiction. The program seeks interdisciplinary Penn State…
Two Penn State researchers contribute to fight against human trafficking
Feb 8, 2021
Two Penn State researchers are contributing to the fight against human trafficking, acting as leaders and speakers at the First Annual Regional Human Trafficking Summit For Advocates Against Human Trafficking, taking place on Feb. 9-10, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.Glenn Sterner, assistant professor of…
Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse seeks co-funded faculty position candidates
Feb 5, 2021
The Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) has announced an invitation for applications from departments across the Penn State system for a co-funded faculty position as part of the Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse (CCSA).Addressing one of the University’s aims in its Strategic Plan, "…
Impacts of the pandemic on opioid-related drug overdose
Jan 5, 2021
Opioid-related drug overdose is a leading cause of death and injury in the United States. When we consider individuals who use opioids, social factors including poor access to healthcare, unstable housing and employment, and social isolation may double as risk factors for infectious disease…
Preventing risky drinking by college students the focus of new Penn State study
Dec 7, 2020
Is there a simple way for parents to reduce the chance of their college-age children having problems resulting from drinking alcohol? Professor of Biobehavioral Health Robert Turrisi was recently awarded a 5-year, $3.6 million grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to…