Impact

      Preventing Teen Substance Abuse

      Penn State researchers and Extension educators are partnering to build resilient families and provide research-based drug abuse prevention programs across Pennsylvania.

      To help build resilient families in Pennsylvania, Penn State researchers like Janet Welsh are taking prevention research out of the lab and into communities where it matters most. "We aren’t going to solve the whole problem of drug abuse ourselves," Welsh said, "but because of our clear mission and track record of success, we can be a piece of the solution." Credit: Michelle Bixby / Penn State. Creative Commons

      While legislators and researchers work together to develop treatment options and solutions for the nationwide opioid crisis, community members, schools and caregivers have turned their focus to developing ways to protect future generations from substance abuse. To help build resilient families in Pennsylvania, Penn State researchers like Janet Welsh are taking prevention research out of the lab and into communities where it matters most.

      As the coordinator for the PROSPER team in Pennsylvania, Welsh works with the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center and Penn State Extension to develop and deliver science-based prevention programs to Pennsylvania middle schoolers. Since starting research in 2001 with a sample of more than 11,000 children, PROSPER (PROmoting School-community-university Partnerships to Enhance Resilience) has seen significant improvements in family life and youth development, as well as reductions in teenage delinquency and substance abuse.

      READ MORE about Welsh's work and the impact of the PROSPER program at impact.psu.edu.

      Last Updated June 8, 2021

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