5,068: The number of subjects across PSI studies in 2015.
Media - 2015
A new study by PSI research scientist, Dr. Atika Khurana, links risk behavior to deficiencies in (certain) adolescent brains (click here to learn more).
Findings from PSI study, Family and Peer Processes and Gene-Enviroment Interplay in Early Adolescence: An Adoption Study, have been featured on the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research blog (click here to learn more).
Under the direction of Dr. Philip Fisher, research scientist at the Prevention Science Institute and professor in the Department of Psychology at UO, Eugene's Pearl Buck Preschool's Specialized Parenting Program has adapted the FIND intervention to help parents with learning challenges learn positive parenting behaviors (click here to learn more).
The investigative work of Dr. Atika Khurana, research scientist at PSI and UO assistant professor of counseling psychology and human services, is featured in an NPR news story and in a Forbes.com news story about working memory and adolescent impulsivity. The June 17, 2015, “Shots” Health News from NPR and the June 24, 2015, “Pharma and Healthcare” Forbes review describe Dr. Khurana’s study of 360 adolescents age 12–15 years who were tested for their ability to keep information in mind while making decisions or problem solving while ignoring distractions. The research team sought to determine how individual differences in this ability, also known as working memory, were linked to adolescent self-control and tendency to engage in risky behaviors, in particular alcohol use and early and unprotected sexual behaviors. Results of the study, reported in the journal Child Development, doi: 10.1111/cdev.12383 suggest that working memory plays a key role in adolescents’ ability to refrain from risk taking.
Dr. Elizabeth Stormshak, PSI director, has been awarded a 2015 Mental Health Heroes Award from Trillium Family Services, a Portland-based, Oregon community provider of mental and behavioral healthcare for children and families. Trillium’s “Keep Oregon Well” program, which issues the awards, recognizes the individuals, nonprofits, and community groups who have helped mental and behavioral healthcare succeed. Beth was chosen by a selection committee comprised of mental health and social services providers. The program defines the “heroes” as “any person or group that has helped reduce stigma, has advanced the mental and behavioral healthcare field, and has made Oregon and the Pacific Northwest a safer, more supportive place to live through their service, sacrifice, risk, inspiration, and example.” The awards are given each May in observance of Mental Health Awareness Month.
Dr. Elizabeth Skowron, research scientist at the Prevention Science Institute and professor in the Department of Counseling Psychology and Human Services at the UO, was recently awarded a $3.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study the use and implementation of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy among families in Lane County (click here to learn more).
Dr. Philip Fisher, research scientist at the Prevention Science Institute and professor in the Department of Psychology at UO, partners with the Oregon Social Learning Center on a study that suggests ways to help foster kids cope with school moves (click here to learn more).
Dr. Elizabeth Stormshak, Prevention Science Institute director and College of Education professor of counseling psychology, is leading a new University of Oregon multidisciplinary initiative, Health Promotion & Obesity Prevention (HPOP), to address the growing national health crisis tied to adult and child obesity rates. (click here to learn more).
Dr. Elizabeth Skowron, research scientist at Prevention Science Institute, associate professor of counseling psychology at the University of Oregon College of Education, and director of the Graduate Specialization in Prevention Science program, has been awarded a five-year, $3.1 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to investigate the mechanisms of change underlying a parenting intervention for families struggling with child maltreatment (CM). (click here to learn more).
Elizabeth Stormshak, PhD, director of the Prevention Science Institute, and John Seeley, PhD, senior research scientist at Oregon Research Institute, Eugene, have been awarded a four-year grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to continue testing the efficacy of an online version of the Family Check-Up for schools that parents can use either at the school or at home. (click here to learn more).
Dr. Philip Fisher, research scientist at the Prevention Science Institute and professor in the Department of Psychology at UO, is a current council member at the Center for Developing Child at Harvard University. (click here to learn more).
