In recent years, the idea of adoption has been seen regularly in the public eye as celebrities such as Angelina Jolie, Madonna and Sandra Bullock are adopting internationally to grow their clans. However, there's a lot more to be said about adoption, and Jennifer Crissman Ishler, a senior instructor in human development and family studies (HDFS) at Penn State, has made it her mission to give students a crash course on the ins and outs of this complex process. (more)
Cheryl Cheek, associate professor of human development and family studies at Penn State Mont Alto, and 10 of her students have developed a "retro room" for dementia patients at the Quincy Village Retirement Community in Quincy, Pa. The project was part of a senior-level class on aging.
Cheek said the retro room is intended to help dementia patients recall a time when they were most comfortable -- in most cases, the 1950s and 1960s. While the concept has been practiced with success in Europe, it has not yet been applied in the United States. "I thought it would be a perfect project for the aging class I teach," she said. (more)
David Almeida, professor of human development in Penn State's College of Health and Human Development, will present the 2011 Pattishall Research Lecture. His lecture, "The Speedometer of Life: Daily Stress, Health, and Well-Being," will be given at 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 30, in the Bennett Pierce Living Center, 110 Henderson Building on the University Park campus. The event, sponsored by the College of Health and Human Development, is free and open to the public. (more)
Children at Penn State's Child Development Lab (CDL) celebrated the 95th birthday of one of their favorite volunteers -- Norene Bigelow, affectionately known as "Grandma Norene." The children surprised her on Thursday, Nov. 18 with a special song, which they wrote and performed with local children's musician Mark Ross. They also presented her with an apron decorated with their handprints and a finger-painted serving dish. Bigelow has been volunteering at the CDL for eight years. (more)
For centuries, the brain has been the subject of countless philosophical and scientific debates. Recently, many discoveries and theories have cropped up around how the brain works, and those theories are helping us better understand the brain's role in health and behavior. Faculty members in the College of Health and Human Development are advancing several subfields of neuroscience research, looking at topics that include aggression, movement and iron deficiency. (more)
People may feel younger if they feel empowered to make changes that will impact their lives, according to a new study conducted at Penn State. The study looked at "subjective age" -- how old a person feels in comparison to their chronological age, which plays an important role in health and well-being. (more)
Fred Vondracek retired on June 30, 2010, after a 41-year tenure at Penn State. Now a professor emeritus of human development, Vondracek had a profound impact on the people he worked with and on the University as a whole. He held a multitude of academic leadership roles, helped shape and build a department and a college, broadened Penn State's international reach and paved the way to improve work-life balance for Penn State employees. (more)
Breaking an alcohol addiction is always a challenge, but the dependency may be even more difficult to escape for a young adult at college. A new book edited and co-authored by H. Harrington "Bo" Cleveland, associate professor of human development and family studies, explores one successful method for facilitating recovery in college students: alcohol recovery campuses. (more)
Penn State and the University of Wisconsin-Madison have joined forces to help people quit smoking. Penn State's Methodology Center is providing expertise with innovative research methodology at the Tobacco Intervention Laboratory, a newly established research laboratory that is housed within the University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention (UW-CTRI). Penn State received over $700,000 for this study. (more)
The Gerontological Society of America presented distinguished awards to two Penn State faculty members at its annual conference, November 18 to 22, 2009, in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Steven Zarit, professor and head of the Department of Human Development and Family Studies, received the organization's Distinguished Career Contribution Award. Dr. Gerald McClearn, Evan Pugh Professor of Health and Human Development, received its Robert W. Kleemeier Award. Both awards recognize outstanding research contributions. (more)
