Tobacco smoke exposure may increase heavy metal levels in children’s saliva
Secondhand tobacco smoke continues to be a major source of indoor air pollution that causes more than 41,000 nonsmoking adults to die every year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The exposure is even more dire for children, who can be more…
Race- and gender-specific interventions may lower drug overdose death rates
Interventions to address stimulant and opioid use that consider race and gender may prove more effective at preventing overdose deaths than current methods, according to a Penn State-led team of researchers who studied how drug treatment admissions and overdose deaths differed among race and gender…
Annual substance use conference examines stigma, opioid crisis
The Penn State Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction (CSUA) recently hosted its fourth annual conference in the HUB-Robeson Center at the University Park campus.
Drawing over 150 attendees throughout the day, including through the Zoom livestream, the conference kicked off with a welcome from…
Zgierska elected as Vice President to American Society of Addiction Medicine
Aleksandra Zgierska, MD, PhD, DFASAM, Jeanne L. and Thomas L. Leaman, MD, Endowed Professor and Vice Chair for Research at the Department of Family and Community Medicine at Penn State Hershey and Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction advisory board member, was recently elected as Vice…
Brothers receives Sociological Practice and Public Sociology Outstanding Publication Award
Sarah Brothers, assistant professor of sociology and public policy and SSRI co-funded faculty member through the Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction, was recently awarded the Sociological Practice and Public Sociology (SPPS) Outstanding Publication Award for The Methadone Manifesto: Treatment…
Women less likely to seek substance use treatment due to stigma, logistics
Fewer than 11% of women with a substance use disorder (SUD) received treatment in 2019 according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. New research from Penn State examined the barriers that women with SUDs reported that prevented them from seeking treatment. The…
Sterner is 2023 recipient of Emerging Faculty Award for Engaged Scholarship
Glenn Sterner III, assistant professor of criminal justice at Penn State Abington, has received the 2023 Outreach and Online Education Emerging Faculty Award for Engaged Scholarship.
The Emerging Faculty Outreach Award is a University-wide honor that recognizes early-career tenure-track and non-…
Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs Releases Report on Impact of Online Gambling in Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP), Penn State, and the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) recently released the second annual report analyzing the impact of online gambling, also referred to as interactive gaming or iGaming in…
Increases in opioid overdoses in Pennsylvania varied by county during the COVID-19 pandemic
The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. It originally appeared in The Conversation and was written by Brian King, Andrea Rishworth, Louisa M. Holmes, and Ruchi Patel
The big idea
The COVID-19 pandemic intensified the opioid epidemic, according to our new…
Prenatal cigarette, cannabis exposure may have associations with childhood obesity
Childhood obesity rates continue to rise in the United States, putting kids at risk for asthma, sleep apnea, type 2 diabetes, and other health conditions. Children prenatally exposed to both tobacco and cannabis had a 12 times higher risk for obesity by middle childhood (9–12 years of age) compared…
Personal connections matter to families taking care of kin during opioid crisis
For family members unexpectedly taking care of a relative’s child during the opioid crisis, it can be difficult to navigate the legal waters of assuming custody. The process may be easier — and come with more support — if these caregivers have personal connections to local resource institutions,…
CSUA Conference registration now open
SSRI’s Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction's annual conference will be held May 1, 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. in the HUB-Robeson Center. The conference is free, but registration is required. We encourage researchers, students, staff, and community members to attend. This event is in-person at…
Penn State leads multi-state project to help prevent opioid misuse
Opioid use disorder continues to wreak havoc across the United States. Opioids were involved in more than 68,000 overdose deaths in 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Penn State recently received a $1.3 million, two-year grant from the Substance Use and Mental…
Piazza Center creates national hazing and dangerous drinking prevention study
The Timothy J. Piazza Center for Fraternity and Sorority Research and Reform is partnering with the WITH US Center for Bystander Intervention at California Polytechnic State University and the Gordie Center at the University of Virginia to determine best practices in hazing and substance misuse…
CSUA seed grants now open
SSRI's Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction (CSUA) invites proposals for Level 2 pilot research projects aimed at addressing issues related to substance use and addiction. We seek interdisciplinary Penn State teams to develop novel translational research programs, which can range from…
Bimodal intervention shows promise for intimate partner violence survivors
Black women involved in the legal system disproportionately experience intimate partner violence (IPV) but currently have few options for tailored interventions that consider intersectionality, according to a Penn State College of Education researcher.
Brandy Henry, assistant professor of education…
Sterner honored by Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health for work on opioid crisis, human trafficking
Glenn Sterner, a Social Science Research Institute co-funded faculty member through the Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction and assistant professor of criminal justice at Penn State Abington, received the 2022 Rural Health Hero of the Year Award by the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health…
Can parents help prevent risky cannabis and alcohol use by college students?
Cannabis use by college students is on the rise, causing concern among substance-use experts. In 2020, 44% of college students reported using marijuana in the past year, compared to 38% in 2015, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Penn State researchers are testing an intervention…
Sterner contributes to article about opioid settlement funds reaching rural communities
Glenn Sterner , a Social Science Research Institute co-funded faculty member and assistant professor of criminal justice at Penn State Abington, contributed to an article on CNN and KHN about how opioid settlement funds are often shortchanged by rural communities.
The article mentions that…
Ensuring fair distribution of the $1 billion+ opioid settlement in Pennsylvania
To ensure fair and impartial distribution of the $1.07 billion that was awarded to Pennsylvania as part of 2021’s massive settlement with opioid manufacturers and distributors, a team of interdisciplinary researchers from Penn State worked with counties across the commonwealth to develop the…
Reduced-nicotine cigarettes result in less smoking in anxious, depressed smokers
Lowering the amount of nicotine in cigarettes to non-addictive levels may reduce smoking without worsening mental health in smokers with mood or anxiety disorders, according to Penn State College of Medicine and Harvard Medical School researchers. They said reducing nicotine content in cigarettes…
Holmes interviewed on WTAJ
SSRI cofund Louisa Holmes was recently interviewed on WTAJ about how her research on lack of naloxone is linked to increased overdose deaths in smaller Pennsylvania communities. Policymakers may wish to consider using opioid settlement funds to expand access to naloxone in communities, says Holmes.
New book examines gender on legal response to domestic violence
Over the past 40 years, considerable progress has been made in lowering rates of domestic violence (DV) in our communities. However, this progress has been uneven due to continuing misconceptions about the causes and dynamics of domestic violence.
"Gender and Domestic Violence: Contemporary Legal…
Substance use disorder summit jumpstarts the discourse on stigma reduction
The Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction’s (CSUA) hosted the first annual Substance Use Disorder Stigma Reduction Summit recently at the HUB-Robeson Center in University Park. Organized by the Substance Use Stigma Reduction Collaborative, the event brought in researchers, practitioners and…
Lack of naloxone led to increased overdose deaths in rural Pa., study finds
Pennsylvania has one of the highest rates of opioid overdose in the nation, and, according to Penn State researchers, one’s chances of surviving that overdose can depend on where the person lives.
Using data from the Pennsylvania Overdose Information Network from the years 2018-20 and American…