Frankenberg recognized with 2021 Palmer Faculty Mentoring Award
Apr 23, 2021
Erica Frankenberg, professor of education and demography in the College of Education and PRI affiliate, is the recipient of Penn State's 2021 Howard B. Palmer Faculty Mentoring Award.The award honors and recognizes outstanding achievement by a faculty member with at least five years of service who…
Glick recognized by Penn State Global Programs
Apr 20, 2021
Penn State Global Programs has announced the 2020-21 recipients of its annual awards that recognize the outstanding contributions of individuals and academic programs at Penn State who have helped to advance the University’s global engagement goals.The Outstanding Achievement Award recognizes one…
Byun honored at recent College of Education awards ceremony
Apr 19, 2021
Penn State College of Education faculty, staff and students who have made compelling and momentous contributions to their chosen fields or majors over the past year were honored April 15 at the college’s virtual spring appreciation and awards ceremony.Winners were selected through nomination…
Family ties protect young adults from substance misuse
Mar 29, 2021
Opioid use disorders now affect over 2.1 million people in the United States, and rates of drug overdose have skyrocketed over the past three decades. In a collaboration between the Penn State Population Research Institute and Syracuse University’s Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion,…
EIC Podcast on PacMAT with Max Crowley and Laura Fassbende now available
Mar 24, 2021
This month, the Evidence-to-Impact Podcast is taking a short break from our Pandemic Perspective series to examine an existing working relationship between academia and government. For our March episode, we explore the Pennsylvania Coordinated Medication-Assisted Treatment Program, or PacMAT, which…
Local law-enforcement policy may affect pediatric health care
Mar 22, 2021
Local law-enforcement of immigration policy may affect preventable hospitalization rates for children, according to new research led by a Penn State investigator.“This research shows that there is an association between these policies and the health of the entire community’s children,” said…
Youth obesity rates unaffected by income increases
Mar 19, 2021
Does higher income for family households lead to lower youth obesity rates? A Penn State researcher found study results that suggest the answer is no.Molly Martin, associate professor of sociology and demography, recently published the findings of her study in the Social Science & Medicine…
Family Symposium book series releases latest edition
Mar 19, 2021
The most recent volume in the Family Symposium book series, “Families, Food, and Parenting: Integrating Research, Practice, and Policy”, was published by Springer.The 11th volume in the series is edited by Penn State professors Lori A. Francis, Susan M. McHale, Valarie King, and Jennifer E. Glick…
COVID-19 Case Rates in Rural & Urban PA
Mar 11, 2021
When the COVID-19 pandemic became widespread in the United States, much of the discussion and attention centered on urban epicenters with rapid spread due to the high population density. While rural areas are less populous, other characteristics of rural America make those individuals living there…
Deaths in the family can shape kids' educational attainment in unexpected ways
Mar 9, 2021
Deaths of family members may trigger ripple effects across family networks, reverberating in the lives of children in complex and, sometimes, unexpected ways.In a study, the researchers found that deaths in the family can affect the educational attainment of children. That impact most often is…
Research brief ties increased income from Marcellus Shale natural gas development to youth obesity rates
Feb 16, 2021
The Marcellus Shale natural gas development increased income for families in several rural Pennsylvania counties. In the U.S., children in families with more income typically have lower rates of obesity. But, despite the sudden influx of income to the communities around the Marcellus Shale, rates…
Institute of State and Regional Affairs looks at COVID-19 senior isolation risk
Dec 10, 2020
Continuing its analysis on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Pennsylvania, the Institute of State and Regional Affairs (ISRA) at Penn State Harrisburg has released new data, in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Population Network, examining the impact of social isolation in the senior…
Family symposium highlights parent-child separations
Nov 9, 2020
Penn State’s 28th Annual National Symposium on Family Issues was recently held focusing on the causes and consequences of parent-child separations. For the first time ever, the event was held virtually, but that didn’t deter experts around the nation from participating and offering their diverse…
Jensen co-edits special issue on rural and small-town America
Nov 2, 2020
SSRI Associate Director Leif Jensen, distinguished professor of rural sociology and demography, and Tim Slack, professor of sociology at LSU, have co-edited a new special issue of Population Research and Policy Review on “The Changing Demography of Rural and Small-Town America.”
SSRI associate director and cofunded faculty on team that wins national excellence award for research
Nov 2, 2020
Faculty in SSRI are part of a multidisciplinary, multi-institution research team that was recently awarded the National Excellence in Multistate Research Award from the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities and the United States Department of Agriculture.This prestigious and highly…
Barriers to health care for violence victims
Oct 30, 2020
Violence is a serious health concern and is one of the leading causes of death for adults under the age of 45 in the United States. Among those who are injured during a violent crime, only half of those who need medical treatment use health care services. Penn State researchers are exploring…
Hispanics live longer than most Americans, but will the US obesity epidemic change things?
Oct 16, 2020
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…
Researchers study trends in Pennsylvania school reopening plans
Oct 13, 2020
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,…Family Symposium to focus on parent-child separations
Oct 1, 2020
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-…
Penn State researchers to study political content sharing on Facebook
Sep 8, 2020
As the 2020 election draws closer, political content on social media is becoming more and more prevalent. A group of Penn State researchers is examining spontaneous sharing of political content on Facebook.According to principal investigator S. Shyam Sundar, James P. Jimirro Professor of Media…
Mining Twitter data may help National Parks staff gather feedback faster
Aug 21, 2020
The National Park system has been referred to as one of America’s national treasures. A team of Penn State researchers in the department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management and the Social Science Research Institute, report that mining tweets about the park may open up a rich vein of…
Parent-child separations focus of virtual symposium
Aug 20, 2020
The circumstances of parent-child separation due to parental incarceration, migration and deportation, and military deployment will be the focus of Penn State’s 28th annual Symposium on Family Issues, being held virtually Oct. 26 to 27.“Causes and Consequences of Parent-Child Separations: Pathways…
Mexico-U.S border to be discussed Sept. 17 during De Jong Lecture
Aug 19, 2020
"The New Reality at the Mexico-U.S. Border" will be presented by Doug Massey at Penn State's virtual 15th annual De Jong Lecture in Social Demography at 9 a.m. Sept. 17.Massey is director of the Office of Population Research at Princeton University. Discussants include Amy Hsin, associate…
Climate change-influenced refugee crisis may lead to long-term settlement issues
Jul 30, 2020
While many models suggest that climate change will prompt a substantial number of people to leave their homes, not all research so clearly finds this is the case. Investigating cases where computer models seemed to indicate only limited impacts of climate change on people leaving rural areas, a…
About nine family members to suffer grief from every COVID-19 fatality
Jul 16, 2020
Deaths from COVID-19 will have a ripple effect causing impacts on the mental health and health of surviving family members. But the extent of that impact has been hard to assess until now. Every death from COVID-19 will impact approximately nine surviving family members, according to a study.In a…