Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center at Penn State

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Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center at Penn State

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The Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center at Penn State is an international leader in prevention research, technical assistance, outreach/policy, & training

09/15/2026

Asking young people to advise on our prevention work is a natural fit. They bring a fresh perspective to old ideas, can tell you about new trends, and share what it's like to live in today's world. We're grateful to our current and former communications interns here at the Prevention Research Center. Shown here are photography intern Sophia Mooney, former intern Alora Benitez, former intern and current part-time video producer James Banks, and current intern Sarah Butikofer. Stay tuned for some fresh approaches to prevention storytelling coming soon to our LinkedIn page!

Also, if you know of a Penn State student who might be interested in interning with our communications office, please let us know. We may have an open position next semester.

09/09/2026

Meghan Carter's twin brother Jonathan was killed in a crash caused by underage drinking. Today, as senior director of development at Mothers Against Drunk Driving, she's turning that loss into action — and this work is personal for her every single day.

Partnering with MADD and Nationwide, our goal is simple: end impaired driving for good.

Together, we've developed and distributed "The Power of Parents" materials to over a million families — giving parents real tools to talk with their teens about underage drinking and the dangers of riding with an impaired driver.

The research backs it up. A study funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) found that teens whose parents used the Power of Parents strategies were more likely to decline a ride from someone who'd been drinking or using drugs — and less likely to drive impaired themselves.

09/08/2026

Why is prevention so important? 🧩

Prevention is about taking action early, before challenges become bigger problems. At the PRC, research, collaboration, education, and community partnerships are all important pieces that work together to support healthier individuals, families, and communities.

By investing in prevention today, we can help create healthier and stronger communities for the future! 💙🧡💚

09/03/2026

The verdict is in: PRC's 2027 retreat is heading back outdoors — and leaving the PowerPoint behind.

The beautiful natural setting at Tussey Mountain resort put people in a frame of mind where they could relax, connect, and share ideas and stories. We discussed serious topics like youth mental health and structural racism, and we also talked about the beneficial effects of nature on wellbeing, research being done on empathy and artificial intelligence, and the enthusiasm of young people to change the world for the better. Greg Fosco called attention to a forthcoming paper showing that the benefits of the PROSPER program for middle schoolers are still visible twenty years later — in their grandchildren. (A huge round of applause followed.)

Substantive conversations and friendly banter continued over mini golf and go kart racing.

It's rare that we have time to take a breath and reflect on the past and future together. Our director Daniel Max Crowley asked the group: "Thinking back to where the world was five years ago, what would you have told yourself about the world today?" and "Imagine yourself five years from now — what would you hope you remember about what your life was like today?"

Good food for thought. What would your answers be?

08/25/2026

Welcome, Mackenzie Gonzalez, to the Project TAC team! Project TAC is a study that uses transdermal alcohol sensors to examine alcohol use patterns, alcohol-related consequences and use disorders among young adults, which is in line with Gonzalez’s long-term research interest. She hopes to focus her research on adolescent and young adult substance use, with emphasis on understanding the factors that contribute to substance and alcohol use disorders. She is especially interested in evidence-based approaches that can reduce risk before substance misuse begins.

08/18/2026

45 state legislators. 30 states. One question: can they trust AI enough to use it for policy decisions?

Jonathan Wright and the PRC/EIC team built an AI assistant restricted to a single evidence database — the Results First Clearinghouse — and put it in front of real lawmakers to find out.

The answer wasn't a simple yes or no. Legislators told researchers AI helped them find and understand research fast, which matters when you're working under a legislative deadline. But they also pushed back hard on trust: where did this information come from, and how do we know it's right?

"AI is not going anywhere," Wright said. "The important thing is to create AI tools that use research as their evidence base and to restrict their responses to that evidence base."

That finding shaped the AIRE protocol — Wright's framework for building AI tools that stay grounded in credible sources and stay transparent about where their answers come from.

The goal was never to replace legislators' judgment. It's to help them get to good evidence faster, so the judgment they use is better informed.

08/12/2026

"You never leave your sibling mentally, even if you leave physically."

On a recent episode of the Rick Sanchez podcast, Penn State researcher Mark Feinberg said that sibling relationships play an under-recognized role in long-term adult well-being. Most relationship research focuses on parents, partners, and peers, but the sibling relationships may be as impactful as the child-parent connection.

Based on your experience, what do you think? What's one thing your sibling taught you — even if neither of you realized it at the time?

08/05/2026

Here's what it can take to cut a teenager's su***de risk by a third.

New research, led by Xue Zhang with co-author Jonathan Wright, analyzed data from nearly 200,000 Pennsylvania teens and found something striking: kids who moved up just one level of family attachment — from low to moderate, or moderate to high — had a third less su***de risk than peers who didn't.

Family bonds were the strongest protective factor the study found. But they weren't the only one. School engagement lowered depression, substance use, and bullying. And community recognition bolstered the protective factors.

None of this requires a grand intervention. Zhang put it simply: listen to teens without judgment, take real interest in what they care about, do things together.

Wright, a co-author on the study, used a memorable image: you can't remove the stream of risk running through a community, but you can build fences upstream before kids fall in, and nets downstream to pull them out.

This research shows us where some of those fences belong.

Who's a parent, teacher, or coach that showed you this kind of attention growing up? We'd love to hear about them below.

If you or someone you know is struggling, the 988 Su***de and Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 by call or text.

08/04/2026

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.

🔗 [link in comments]

07/15/2026

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! 🎉

Address

State College, PA

Telephone

(814) 865-1971

Website

http://prevention.psu.edu/

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