Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center at Penn State

The prevention program you choose matters. But how you deliver it might matter more.

New research on the PROSPER prevention model, just published in Prevention Science, found that facilitator quality and family engagement predicted lower substance use three years later — especially for the highest-risk youth.

Not whether content was covered. How it was delivered.

For practitioners, this could mean:

→ Facilitator responsiveness is a mechanism of change. It can be built through training and ongoing coaching.

→ Track engagement, not just completion. Attendance tells you who showed up. Engagement tells you whether the program worked.

→ Pay your facilitators reasonably. Provide coaching. Give them data-based feedback. These aren't program extras — they're how the program works.

→ A 7-week family program in 6th grade can reduce substance use through high school. Early investment in the right conditions pays off.

Congratulations to co-authors Yoon Hur, Sarah Chilenski, Damon Jones, Mark Feinberg, Max Crowley, Patrick O'Neill, Richard Spoth, and the full PROSPER team on this important work, which was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

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Join us in congratulating Abenaa Jones on her promotion to Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Penn State, effective July 1!

Her current work focuses on the opioid epidemic and examines racial differences in opioid overdose educational training and administration of overdose reversal drugs, and the prevalence of opioid use in inner cities, and racial/ethnic differences in opioid use. Her current work also expands to treatment for opioid use disorder among women involved in the criminal justice system.

She says, "When you help mothers, you help two generations."

We are excited to see what's ahead! 🎉

Our colleagues at Evidence-based Prevention and Intervention Support were a trusted source of information and resources for prevention professionals attending the 2026 Annual Conference of the Commonwealth Prevention Alliance (CPA) Conference in Harrisburg, PA. Shown here (l-r) are Jeff Hogan, Nicole Platz, Jordan Joyce, Alise Barr, Janet Welsh, Heather Roberts, Melissa Fausey, Roger Spaw, and Sarah Chilenski. Thanks for all you do!

For Bo Cleveland, this research is personal.

Growing up with a father who struggled with addiction — and ultimately lost his life to it — Bo knows firsthand what's at stake for families navigating substance use and recovery.

Today, as a faculty affiliate at the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center and professor of human development and family studies at Penn State, Bo studies recovery community centers (RCCs): places where people in recovery can find peer support, access resources, and build the life they're working toward.

His research shows these centers make a real difference — day to day, person to person.
"RCCs help level the playing field," Bo says, "so that everyone in recovery can have a supportive, understanding peer group in their lives."

That's the kind of science we're proud to support. 🔗 Full Q&A with Bo Cleveland in the comments.

Last week in Harrisburg, we joined prevention professionals from across Pennsylvania to celebrate a major milestone: the Commonwealth Prevention Alliance's 50th anniversary conference!

In his keynote, Brian Bumbarger, PhD, MEd, founding director of EPIS, highlighted the pivotal role that Prevention Research Center scientists — including Mark T. Greenberg, Sarah Chilenski, and Mark Feinberg — have played in making Pennsylvania a leader in evidence-based prevention.

Our team also led several sessions. Alise Barr and Phyllis Law previewed exciting updates to the Pennsylvania Youth Survey (PAYS) and shared results from the 2025 survey of risks and protective factors among students in grades 4–12. Lee Winterhalter, Shelbe Weaver, and Alise Barr followed with a session on how communities can use PAYS data to drive meaningful change. And Jordan Joyce joined Ericka Gaines, director of Community Empowerment at the Anti-Violence Partnership of Philadelphia, to showcase the Prevention Learning Portal and how it's helping teams build capacity, strengthen community partnerships, and engage families and youth across the state.

Congratulations to CPA and the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs on this milestone. We salute the prevention professionals who show up every day to make the world a better place for youth and families.

Many traditional mindfulness programs for adolescents aren't having the impact that researchers hoped for. Not because mindfulness lacks value, but because it's often taught in ways that don't align with how young people develop and connect.

In this video, Blake Colaianne, assistant research professor of health and human development at Penn State, makes the case teaching mindfulness in ways that actually meets young people where they are.

Congratulations to Steffany Fredman on her promotion to full professor of human development and family studies at Penn State, effective July 1, 2026!

Dr. Fredman has dedicated her career to understanding how PTSD shapes intimate relationships and how healing one can help heal the other.

She is the co-developer of Cognitive-Behavioral Conjoint Therapy for PTSD, a couple-based treatment that has been studied in community, veteran, and military populations and disseminated nationally within the VA for a decade. Her lab is now testing an intensive weekend retreat version of the therapy in a large DoD-funded randomized controlled trial, with the goal of making effective treatment more accessible and efficient for the people who need it most.

She has built a mentorship legacy by training graduate students who have gone on to become faculty and researchers at institutions across the country. She has also received a Teaching in Excellence Award from the Penn State College of Health and Human Development!

We're proud to have her as part of the PRC community. Congratulations, Dr. Fredman! 👏

What does truly exceptional mentorship look like in prevention science?

For the Society for Prevention Research, the answer this year is Sarah Chilenski, named the 2026 recipient of the Friend of ECPN Award, given to mid-career scientists who have made sustained, extraordinary contributions to supporting early-career professionals.

Sarah has mentored more than 20 early-career prevention scientists, co-led more than 65 presentations alongside them, and founded the Coalition Research Group — a cross-university space for mentorship and collaboration. About a quarter of those she's mentored come from historically underrepresented groups in prevention, and she's worked deliberately to dismantle the structural barriers they face.
All of this while supporting 100% of her own salary through external funding.

Here's what our colleague Jochebed Gayles, Ph.D. had to say: “This award could not go to a more deserving person and is an honor that speaks directly to the kind of scholar and human being Dr. Chilenski is,” she said. “Sarah has played an integral role in my growth as a prevention scientist, offering mentorship, friendship, and allyship that goes well beyond the professional. She is the kind of person who invests in you, not because it is expected, but because she genuinely cares about people and the field. Her commitment is reflected not only in the wisdom she shares but in the way she shows up, with encouragement, honesty, and an unwavering belief in the work.”

We are proud to celebrate this recognition of Sarah's work and grateful for the culture of mentorship she's built here.

What if high schoolers had a class dedicated to the science of human connection? And what if we included high students and teachers in helping to shape the class to meet their needs?

Blake Colaianne recently hosted the first Summit on Flourishing in Adolescence at the Franco Harris Pittsburgh Center at Penn State — bringing together principals, teachers, and counselors from 10 Pittsburgh-area high schools to preview a new course called The Science of Human Connection. He hoped half the schools would sign on.

All 10 expressed interest.

The course is built around four trainable skills: awareness, insight, connection, and purpose. It was co-designed with input from students themselves — who even named the class.

As a field, we talk a lot about loneliness, mental health, and the pressure young people are under. This is a shining example of what it looks like when research meets students and schools where they are.