SDRG In The News
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1/19/2021
Jim Casey Initiative Sites Pilot College Readiness Model Three sites with the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative® have been selected to participate in a college readiness pilot for youth who have experienced foster care. The pilot advances the Fostering Higher Education (FHE) model, which supports a key objective of the Jim Casey Initiative’s work: ensuring that young people exiting foster care have the relationships, resources and opportunities needed to thrive. FHE has several evidence-based components and leverages resources — such as an education advocate, opportunities for mentorship and a specialized curriculum —aimed at helping youth with foster care experience make the leap from high school to college. Researchers Amy Salazar of Washington State University and Kevin Haggerty of the University of Washington developed FHE and aided in selecting the Jim Casey Initiative sites for the pilot. read more...
1/11/2021
Northwest PTTC Enhanced Prevention Learning Series: Building Protection Using the Social Development Strategy Thursdays, February 18 - March 31, 2021 10:00 am – 11:30 am Alaska 11:00 am – 12:30 pm Pacific 12:00 pm – 01:30 pm Mountain This 6-session distance learning series offers an interactive forum for participants to explore how to build protection in communities, schools, and families using the Social Development Strategy (SDS). This learning series will build participants’ understanding of shared protective factors and how the Social Development Strategy organizes protection into a strategy for action. Participants will learn and practice using the SDS and its components to design activities that will build protection in families, schools, coalitions and communities. This EPLS provides online consultation, skill-based learning and practice, group and individual activities, reading assignments, and discussion on topics essential to building protection using key learnings from prevention science. read more...
12/21/2020
Parents’ Marijuana Use May Increase Children’s Risk of Marijuana Use and Favorable Views of Marijuana The National Institute on Drug Abuse highlighs findings from a recent SDRG article: Epstein, M., Bailey, J. A., Furlong, M., Steeger, C. M., & Hill, K. G. (2020). An intergenerational investigation of the associations between parental marijuana use trajectories and child functioning. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 48, 830-838. read more...
12/7/2020
Cross-Regional PTTC Learning Event: The Roles of Culture and Collaboration in Preventing Suicide and Substance Misuse in Indigenous Communities Thursday, January, 21, 2021 04:00 pm - 05:00 pm Mountain 03:00 pm - 04:00 pm Pacific 02:00 pm - 03:00 pm Alaska Suicide and substance misuse continue to be significant concerns within indigenous communities, but effective solutions are available and within our reach. Through local community partnerships and cultural practices, we can successfully reduce the multiple, shared factors that impact many health issues, including behavioral health challenges. This webinar will provide an overview of the connections between suicide and substance misuse, the necessity of community partnerships, and ways in which culture can prevent suicide and substance misuse. Participants in the live webinar will be invited to join three follow-up discussion sessions with the presenter: February 4, 2021: Connections between Suicide and Substance Misuse February 18, 2021: Leveraging Community Partnerships March 9, 2021: Integrating Cultural Considerations in Substance Misuse and Suicide Prevention read more...
12/7/2020
Cannabis Concentration and Health Risks. A report for the Washington State Prevention Research Subcommittee A workgroup of researchers from the UW and WSU convened to better understand the health and behavioral risks of high potency cannabis use. The intent of the workgroup was to provide policy makers with a summary of evidence on risk to health and behavior, with the goal of informing policy and practice. This report provides a consensus statement and offers a summary of research evidence supporting the consensus. The report documents that THC content of cannabis products contributes to adverse health effects in a dose-response manner. This increased risk from using higher potency cannabis products is particularly concerning for young users and those with certain pre-existing mental health conditions. These harms are likely to disproportionately affect marginalized populations (low income, minorities) who choose high potency products because of their lower costs, ease and discrete nature of use, glamorization of its use through social media and advertising, and perception of safety. read more...
12/3/2020
How a Police Contact by Middle School Leads to Different Outcomes for Black, White Youth Findings from SDRG’s Family Connections study indicate police encounters in childhood increase the risk of arrest in young adulthood for Black but not White respondents. read more...
11/23/2020
NWPTTC Enhanced Prevention Learning Series: Leveraging Systems Change in Substance Misuse Prevention Wednesdays, January 6 - February 10, 2021 08:30 am – 10:00 am Alaska 09:30 am – 11:00 am Pacific 10:30 am – 12:00 pm Mountain This six-week distance learning series offers an interactive experience for participants to explore the role of systems change in substance misuse prevention. Participants will examine capacities shown to enable evidence-based interventions to achieve and sustain expected results and learn how to incorporate these into their work. Trainers will share examples from their own systems change experiences and will highlight how leveraging leadership, communications, funding, and data can help participants to achieve their prevention goals. The distance learning series will include skill-based learning opportunities, individual and group activities, reading assignments, and group discussion. read more...
11/2/2020
National Training and Development Curriculum for Foster and Adoptive Parents The National Training and Development Curriculum (NTDC) is a new curriculum that is based on research and input from experts, families who have experience with fostering or adopting children, and former foster and adoptive youth. It provides potential foster or adoptive parents with the information and tools needed to parent a child who has experienced trauma, separation, or loss. It is a state-of-the-art classroom and online program that helps to prepare prospective foster and adoptive parents to be successful parents. In addition, the NTDC gives parents access to information and resources needed to continue building skills once they have a child in their home. read more...
10/8/2020
UW receives $1.5 million CDC grant to study handgun carrying among rural adolescents The CDC announced on Sept. 23 it would fund 16 studies for a total of more than $7.8 million to understand and prevent firearm violence. The University of Washington’s proposal to study handgun carrying among rural adolescents was awarded a three-year grant totaling roughly $1.5 million. SDRG is one of the collaborators on this project which will include testing the effect of the Communities That Care prevention system on developmental patterns of handgun carrying among adolescents living in rural communities. read more...
9/15/2020
SDRG Article Selected as Editor's Choice A recent article from the SSDP-TIP study on the impact of marijuana legalization on youth marijuana, cigarette, and alcohol use is the Editor’s Choice article for the month of September in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Bailey, J. A., Epstein, M., Roscoe, J. N., Oesterle, S., Kosterman, R., & Hill, K. G. (2020). Marijuana legalization and youth marijuana, alcohol, and cigarette use and norms. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 59, 309-316. read more...
8/18/2020
Seattle Times Op-Ed from UW School of Social Work Dean, Eddie Uehara Don’t co-opt social workers on the path to police ‘reform’ read more...
8/18/2020
HealthDay post: SDRG article in American Journal of Preventive Medicine Teen Pot Use Makes a Comeback After Legalization read more...
8/6/2020
SDRG has received a $2.5 million NIH grant to complete randomized controlled trial on Friends of the Children’s mentoring model The trial is the longest-running study of salaried, professional youth mentoring in the country. This grant from the National Institute of Child Health Development at the National Institutes of Health is for completing a randomized controlled trial (RCT) on Friends of the Children’s 12-year mentoring model. Beginning when children were ages 5-6, the study is the longest-running professional, salaried youth mentoring RCT in the country. This grant will support the completion of the second phase of the RCT on youth progress at the end of adolescence. read more...
7/20/2020
SDRG study finds that legal marijuana may be slowing reductions in teen marijuana use This longitudinal study of teens and young adults finds that teens may be more likely to use marijuana following legalization — with the proliferation of stores and increasing adult use of the drug — than they otherwise would have been. read more...
6/30/2020
Parents’ Marijuana Use May Increase Children’s Risk of Marijuana Use and Favorable Views of Marijuana NIDA Notes features SDRG article: Epstein, M., Bailey, J. A., Furlong, M., Steeger, C. M., & Hill, K. G. (2019). An intergenerational investigation of the associations between parental marijuana use trajectories and child functioning. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1037/adb0000510. read more...
6/8/2020
Early childhood intervention programs may reap benefits across generations Youth programs designed to prevent drug use and delinquency and support healthy development can reap lasting benefits not only for participants, but also for their future kids. Follow the below link to learn more about recent findings from SDRG’s Seattle Social Development Project. read more...
4/21/2020
If you use marijuana, will your kids do the same? What effect does a parent's marijuana use have on kids? An interview with SDRG's Marina Epstein on research published in Psychology of Addictive Behaviors: Epstein, M., Bailey, J. A., Furlong, M., Steeger, C. M., & Hill, K. G. (2019). An intergenerational investigation of the associations between parental marijuana use trajectories and child functioning. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000510 read more...
3/31/2020
Remembering Michael W. Arthur, an SDRG researcher who was an integral part of the prevention community. read more...
3/12/2020
SDRG is pleased to announce two new Assistant Directors supporting its scientific inquiry and science-to-practice efforts. As Assistant Director, Jennifer Bailey will lead SDRG’s science core. Dr. Bailey’s research interests focus on understanding the causes of healthy and unhealthy development in childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood in order to inform positive youth development interventions. She also is studying the impact of drug policy on substance use, including the effects of cannabis legalization on cannabis and other substance use among teens and parents in Washington State, as well as the impact of differing alcohol policies in the U.S. and Australia on substance use across the life span. She is PI of two studies that reflect the above interests. The study Cannabis Legalization: Youth Substance Use, Conduct Problems, & HIV Risk Behavior is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The study Testing Cross-national Similarities and Differences in Adolescent and Early Adult Individual and Environmental Predictors of Adult Alcohol Use and Related Problems is funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Most recently, Dr. Bailey is working with data from the Community Youth Development Study to understand the childhood, adolescent, and young adult predictors of opioid misuse among rural, suburban, and urban young adults. Her background is in developmental psychology. She is a musician and avid quilter, and is learning to play ice hockey. As Assistant Director, Margaret Kuklinski will focus on dissemination and implementation of evidence-based programs, work that will be informed by 10 years of experience at SDRG. During this time, Dr. Kuklinski has specialized in prevention program implementation, evaluation, and health economics as a leader, research scientist, and consultant on several intervention studies. She currently serves as Principal Investigator on two NIH-funded intervention trials: A Pragmatic Trial of Parent-focused Prevention in Pediatric Primary Care: Implementation and Adolescent Health Outcomes in Three Health Systems (Kuklinski and Sterling, PIs) is testing the feasibility and effectiveness of implementing Guiding Good Choices in three large, integrated, and regionally diverse healthcare systems. The Interplay of Social, Normative, and Legal Marijuana Environments and Marijuana and ATOD Use from Late Childhood to Young Adulthood (Kuklinski and Oesterle, PIs) is a long-term evaluation of the Communities That Care intervention, now in its 16th year. Dr. Kuklinski is also a Co-Investigator on Using SMART to Identify Effective and Cost-Beneficial OUD Prevention in Justice-Involved Youth (Ahrens and Haggerty, PIs), funded under NIDA’s HEAL initiative, where she is charged with overseeing the study’s health economic evaluation. Outside of work, Dr. Kuklinski’s perfect day would include a long hike in the PNW followed by a great meal with family, friends, and her golden retriever, Rio. We welcome Dr. Bailey and Dr. Kuklinski to their new leadership roles at SDRG. read more...
2/3/2020
University of Washington selected for the 2020 Carnegie Foundation Community Engagement Classification The Communities in Action project developed by SDRG is one example of a partnership that embodies the Carnegie Foundation’s definition of community engagement. Communities in Action leverages the Communities That Care model to promote healthy behaviors and prevent the most persistent social problems among young people before they begin. read more...
1/27/2020
Rural kids carrying handguns is ‘not uncommon’ and starts as early as sixth grade Roughly one-third of young males and 1 in 10 females in rural communities have carried a handgun, reports a new University of Washington study. And, the study found, many of those rural kids started carrying as early as the sixth grade. read more...
12/3/2019
40 Years of SDRG Research As we wind down our 40th anniversary celebration year we want to share with you some highlights from SDRG’s 40 years of research. We are fortunate to have collaborated with so many—we discovered we had more than 720 distinct co-authors on our 850 publications and we are extremely proud of our collaborative work with so many researchers. Thank you for letting us share our 40th anniversary with you! read more...
11/12/2019
Congratulations on these awards at the November 2019 Washington State Prevention Summit! For their work to promote mental health and wellness and prevent substance use disorder, the Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) recently honored several individuals and organizations at the 35th annual Washington State Prevention Summit, held Nov. 5 and 6 in Yakima. SDRG awards include the following: SDRG: Contribution to Prevention by an organization, Business or Agency Richard F. Catalano, Lifetime Achievement Kevin P. Haggerty, Prevention Professional read more...
10/28/2019
Teen marijuana use may have next-generation effects A new SDRG study shows how a parent’s use of marijuana, past or present, can influence their child’s substance use and well-being. read more...
7/25/2019
Decades after a grade-school program to promote social development, adults report healthier, more successful lives SDRG researchers Rick Kosterman, et al., have found that that “good life” in adulthood can start in grade school, by teaching parents and teachers to build stronger bonds with their children, and to help children form greater attachments to family and school. In a study of more than 800 adults throughout their 30s — a group we have followed since they were fifth-graders at Seattle elementary schools in 1985 — the people who reported better health and socioeconomic status were, consistently, those whose parents and teachers had received lessons aimed at building stronger bonds with their children decades ago. read more...
5/28/2019
SDRG has prominent presence at 2019 Society for Prevention Research annual meeting Richard F. Catalano will be inducted as a fellow of the Society for Prevention Research during the May 28–31 annual meeting in San Francisco. In addition, three SDRG-authored papers to be presented during the same meeting were designated Abstracts of Distinction. read more...
5/17/2019
A number of SDRG researchers are presenting at the upcoming Society for Prevention Research annual meeting, May 28-31, 2019, in San Francisco, CA. Click on "read more" for a list of SDRG presentations. read more...
5/1/2019
SDRG celebrates 40 years of prevention science Since 1979, the Social Development Research Group has worked to understand and promote prevention science. read more...
3/7/2019
Free Foster Care and Adoption Training Curriculum Being Tested in Seven States Work is underway to test a national foster and adoptive parent training model that will be free for systems to use by 2022. SDRG is conducting an ongoing evaluation of this curriculum which aims to impact parenting confidence, preparedness for parenting, as well as a greater understanding of the impact of trauma, separation, grief, and loss. Long-term outcomes of the curriculum hope to show improved placement stability and permanency rates, as well as increased child and family well-being. read more...
2/19/2019
UW Interfraternity Council adopts new ban on hard alcohol Because overconsumption of hard alcohol is one of the most high-risk behaviors common in fraternities, the UW Interfraternity Council (IFC) has banned all hard alcohol (anything over 15 percent alcohol) to enhance health and safety in fraternities. According to Kevin Haggerty, SDRG director, harmful effects of binge drinking and hard alcohol use include alcohol toxicity, which can lead to death; as well as blackouts, not being able to remember things, violence, aggression, interpersonal violence, and poor school performance. Rather than completely banning alcohol, which seems like a lofty and unreasonable goal, the IFC is looking for ways to create safer drinking habits at fraternities by changing the culture perceived to encourage binge drinking. In order to truly solve the problem of binge drinking on college campuses, including within fraternities, more involved approaches may be required than a hard alcohol ban that is mainly enforced by students themselves. However, this ban could function as a starting point off of which fraternities can begin a larger conversation on safe drinking habits and reducing risky behaviors. read more...
2/11/2019
Listen to KUOW interview with Nicole Eisenberg on talking to your kids about marijuana. Kim Malcolm talks with SDRG researcher Dr. Nicole Eisenberg about the challenges facing parents as they talk to their children about using marijuana. read more...
2/6/2019
Parenting in the age of legal pot: Household rules, conversations help guide teen use. The legalization of marijuana in Washington state in 2012 gave parents the opportunity for a new teachable moment. Many say that as society has become more permissive, they want information and advice. read more...
1/24/2019
SDRG Directors honored at SSWR conference Three members of the Social Development Research Group were honored in San Francisco last week at the national conference for the Society for Social Work and Research. School of Social Work Professor Kevin Haggerty, who also directs SDRG, was inducted as a fellow into the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare. Noted SDRG researchers and School professors, J. David Hawkins and Richard F. Catalano, received the SSWR’s 2019 Distinguished Career Achievement Award for their high-impact scholarship, rigorous scientific approach to social work research, and major contributions to the field. Hawkins and Catalano share a 40-year partnership, capped by the development, testing and dissemination of the Communities That Care prevention system, which focused the national conversation on a community-based approach to positive youth development. In his remarks at the awards ceremony, Hawkins acknowledged the ongoing support he and Catalano have received, commenting: “It all begins at home. We are grateful for our supportive home community—the UW School of Social Work.” read more... |
