Suicide vulnerability index, machine learning model help predict counties’ risk
Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States, but the models that have been used to predict suicide rates weight risk factors equally and rely on data for large geographic areas, limiting the precision of the predictions, according to Penn State researchers. Now, the researchers have…
Intensifying heat waves threaten South Asia’s struggling farmers – many of them women
By Heather Randell, Assistant Professor of Rural Sociology and Demography and SSRI cofund, Penn State and Emily M L Southard, Ph.D. Candidate in Rural Sociology and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Penn State, for The Conversation
Sitting in a semi-circle in the yard outside of a village school…
Unemployment associated with worse mental and physical health later in life
When and how often a person experiences unemployment in their 20s, 30s and 40s has serious implications for their health later in life, which could be in part due to a lack of access to health care while unemployed, according to new research.
The researchers found that people who had little…
Older adults more likely to have multiple health ailments than prior generations
Later-born generations of older adults in the United States are more likely to have a greater number of chronic health conditions than the generations that preceded them, according to a study conducted by Penn State and Texas State University.
According to the researchers, the increasing frequency…
Losing a grandmother may trigger rise in depression for some of her survivors
Losing a beloved family member is never easy, but a new study suggests the loss of a grandmother in particular may have repercussions for the loved ones she leaves behind.
The researchers found that for up to seven years after the death of their grandmother, adolescent boys had a 50% increase in…
Firearm injuries undermine mental, physical, and financial health
By Keren Landman for Vox
In his speech last Thursday about the Robb Elementary School massacre in Uvalde, Texas, President Joe Biden spoke about a young student who’d averted the shooter’s attention by smearing her classmate’s blood on her face.
“Imagine what it would be like for her to walk down…
PAA’s annual meeting features strong Penn State presence
Many researchers from Penn State’s Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) and Population Research Institute (PRI) participated in the Population Association of America’s (PAA) annual meeting, which took place recently in Atlanta.
This year’s conference featured 235 sessions from a variety of…
Disruptive kindergartners are likely to be bullied later in elementary school
By Paul Morgan, Professor of Education and Demography, and Director of the Center for Educational Disparities Research, for The Conversation
Kindergartners who act out, disrupt classrooms, get angry and argue with their teachers are especially likely to be bullied once they reach third, fourth and…
Joint Lerner/PRI Brief - Social Infrastructure (“Third Places”) is Not Distributed Equally Across the U.S.
By Danielle Rhubart, Penn State; Yue Sun, Claire Pendergrast, and Shannon M. Monnat, Syracuse University
Third places are the physical spaces in a community where people can gather to connect and share resources, support, and information. They can help support health because they promote social…
Gen Z does not dream of labor
PRI Associate Director Sarah Damaske was quoted in a Vox.com article about how over the past two years, young millennials and members of Gen Z have created an abundance of memes and pithy commentary about their generational disillusionment toward work. The jokes, which correspond with the rise…
Save the date for Penn State's 30th Annual Family Symposium, Oct. 24 - 25
Despite its significance for individuals, families and the larger society, research on family socialization on issues of race/ethnicity and racism remains limited. The goal of Penn State’s 30th annual Family Symposium, "Family Socialization around Race/Ethnicity and Racism: Advancing Understanding…
Black children in Pennsylvania have unequal access to quality preschool
Black children in Pennsylvania are far less likely than their white peers to have access to quality preschool providers, according to Penn State College of Education researchers.
“Gaps in educational resources at a young age are a problem because children’s early learning experiences lay the…
Van Hook quoted in article on Chicago's undocumented seniors
SSRI cofund and PRI associate Jennifer Van Hook, Roy C. Buck Professor of Sociology and Demography in the College of the Liberal Arts, was quoted in an article about older adults in Chicago who don't have legal status and are disqualified from federally funded senior housing.
Family…
New initiative on migration forming at Penn State
In one of the largest mass-migration flows in recent history, approximately 3.4 million people have fled their homes in Ukraine since late February. Most are women and children, and many families have been torn apart because the Ukraine State Border Guard Service has prohibited…
Community-Engaged Researcher Survey
Penn State faculty are invited to participate in a survey as part of a collaborative Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) and Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) initiative to strengthen existing and foster new community-academic partnerships in community-engaged…
Penn State social scientists anticipate Ukrainian refugees’ needs, challenges
In one of the largest mass migration flows in recent history, approximately 3.4 million people have fled their homes in Ukraine since late February. Most are women and children, and many families have been torn apart because the Ukraine State Border Guard Service has prohibited men ages 18 to…
Challenges of older Pennsylvanians focus of new brief
Pennsylvania’s population is aging rapidly, and it is estimated that by 2030, one in five residents will be age 65 and older.
The issue is important, because as the state’s population ages, the number of adults needing services is expected to increase. In a new policy brief from Penn…
The Covid cloud is starting to lift – but two years on, its legacy of grief lingers
PRI Associate Ashton Verdery was quoted in this story about the impacts of Covid-19 by The Guardian.
Verdery created with colleagues a bereavement multiplier that estimates how many people in the US have lost a close relative to Covid. Given the paucity of historical demographic data for Hispanic…
Santos quoted on underrepresented communities in the census
SSRI cofund and PRI associate Alexis Santos was recently quoted in an ABC News story about Latino, Black, and Native American communities underrepresented in the 2020 Census.
It's important for the bureau to accurately measure how many people are living in the United States; the census determines…
New PPN Brief discusses ambulatory and cognition challenges among older Pennsylvanians
A new brief from the Pennsylvania Population Network (PPN) explores differences in ambulatory and cognition challenges for Pennsylvanians by age group and sex.
Authored by Alexis R. Santos, SSRI cofund and assistant professor of human development and family studies, and Raeven Faye Chandler,…
Morgan among top 1% of researchers globally
Harry & Marion Royer Eberly Fellow and Professor of Education and Demography Paul Morgan is recognized as being among the top 1% of scientists in the world, according to a report from Elsevier BV and Stanford University.
Morgan is also a PRI associate and the director for the Center of…
Aging and Disability Services are Unequally Distributed Across the United States
The U.S. population is aging rapidly, but 15% of U.S. counties have no aging and disability services organizations. This research brief by Syracuse University’s Claire Pendergrast and Penn State's PRI Associate Danielle Rhubart shows that rural counties and counties with the highest rates of…
Researchers examine link between residential and school segregation
School segregation has remained a hot-button political issue since Brown vs. Board of Education, a landmark 1954 decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the justices ruled that state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional. New research from a Penn State…
Social science policy and communication strategies workshop
Interested in how to get your work into the hands of policymakers? Want to know how to frame your science to increase its value by decision makers and engage directly with leaders about your science?
The Evidence-to-Impact Collaborative (EIC) at Penn State is hosting the virtual workshop…
Shenk named AAAS Fellow
Congratulations to PRI Associate Mary Shenk, one of five Penn State faculty members named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world's largest general scientific society.
Story in Penn State News.