Institute for Social and Policy Research » General News

Institute researchers study parental burden among parents having children with disabilities

Tom Pavkov, Ph.D. — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:07:16 +0000

ISPR researchers Julie Ramisch, Thomas Pavkov, Sesen Negash and Joseph Wetchler have completed a study titled “Parental Burden Among Families with Children Having Disabilities: The Role of ADHD and Mental Health Disorders.” The study was published in the NADD Bulletin. The link to the article is as follows: http://www.thenadd.org/cgi-bin/checkmember.pl?page=pages/membership/bulletins/v12n4a1. Ms. Ramisch is now a doctoral student in Marriage and Family Studies at Michigan State University and Ms. Negash is now a doctoral student in Marriage and Family Studies at Florida State University.

ISPR Faculty Associate awarded grant

Tom Pavkov, Ph.D. — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 20:10:01 +0000

Dr. Anne Edwards, Associate Professor of Psychology and Faculty Associate of ISPR, won a grant from Northwest Indiana Community Action Inc., for CAMEO, an educational support group for caregivers of elderly relatives. The grant, in the amount of $10,000, will assist with operating costs and the establishment of a resource center for caregivers. For further information about the support group, please call Dr. Edwards as 219-989-2863, or email her at edwardsa@calumet.purdue.edu.

ISPR collaborates with School of Education on new Special Education: Intense Interventions grant

Tom Pavkov, Ph.D. — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:44:06 +0000

Dr. Rita Brusca-Vega who is an Associate Professor in the School of Education and an ISPR Faculty Associate has received an award through the United States Department of Education to support a Special Education: Intense Interventions training program. Purdue University Calumet will offer a graduate level course of study to approximately 40 candidates leading to state licensure in Special Education: Intense Interventions. Graduate of the program will serve students with autism spectrum disorders, severe emotional disorders, moderate and severe mental retardation, traumatic brain injury, multiple disabilities and other health impairments. Experts from Riley Child Development Center of the Indiana University School of Medicine, the PUC School of Nursing, and the PUC Institute for Social and Policy Research will collaborate in the training program to provide comprehensive interdisciplinary training. The project is funded at approximately $750,000 and begins in the Fall of 2009.

ISPR Researcher wins Purdue Research Foundation Award

Tom Pavkov, Ph.D. — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:40:10 +0000

Dr. David Nalbone, Associate Professor of Psychology and ISPR Faculty Associate received 1 of 2 summer research awards funded by the Purdue Research Foundation. Chosen by a panel of his faculty peers, Dr. Nalbone will use the support to continue development of his research program focusing on statistical literacy among health care providers.

ISPR poster presentation wins honorable mention at UK mental health conference

Tom Pavkov, Ph.D. — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:30:38 +0000

An ISPR poster presentation won honorable mention at the Annual Scientific Research Conference meeting of the United Kingdom’s Mental Health Research Network. The conference was held at the University of Nottingham in Nottingham England between May 29-21, 2009. The poster presentation titled “Mental Health, Substance Abuse, and Risk Behavior Disparities: Comparisons between Tribal Youth and other Race/Ethnic Groups in the United States” featured analysis of Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Data comparing American Indian/Alaskan Native youth to youth from other race/ethnic groups. The work is a collaborative effort between the National Indian Child Welfare Association, Prevent Child Abuse America, and the Institute.

ISPR upgrades web survey technology

Tom Pavkov, Ph.D. — Tue, 19 May 2009 23:43:40 +0000

In order to better support large internet web surveys, ISPR has recently upgraded its survey web server. With the support of CTIS staff, the web survey software was migrated to the University’s “virtual” web server array. This virtual server is comprised of multiple processing units designed to share processing. The new installation will provide more stable server operations for large scale data collection planned for the next 24 months.

ISPR presents at National Child Abuse and Neglect Conference

Tom Pavkov, Ph.D. — Tue, 19 May 2009 23:21:11 +0000

ISPR staff presented study findings at the National Child Abuse and Neglect Conference in Atlanta Georgia on April 2, 2009. Participating in a conference with Prevent Child Abuse America and the National Indian Child Welfare Association, the presentation focused on describing progress on the Tribal Youth Victimization and Delinquency study as well as data from the secondary analysis of YRBSS data. The conference venue provided an important opportunity to disseminate information about the project and to inform advocates about child abuse and neglect issues in Indian Country.

ISPR completes participation in training of 75 educational mentors

Tom Pavkov, Ph.D. — Tue, 19 May 2009 23:08:29 +0000

April 23rd and April 24th marked the culmination of the training of 75 educational mentors as part of Project EASE. The training program has drawn a diverse group of trainees including volunteers, professionals who work with youth, and individuals who operate mentoring programs. As Project EASE moves forward into its 3rd year, decisions are being made about how to sustain this important local initiative. Legacy Foundation is serving as the fiscal agent for Project EASE.

ISPR staff present findings at Tampa children’s mental health conference

Tom Pavkov, Ph.D. — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 02:13:38 +0000

ISPR staff presented findings in a presentation titled “Tribal Youth Victimization and Delinquency: An Analysis of Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey Data” at the 22nd Annual Research Conference on Children’s Mental Health. The conference was convened between March 1 and March 3 in Tampa, Florida. ISPR Director Thomas W. Pavkov and Research Assistant Leah Travis partnered with staff from the National Indian Child Welfare Association for the presentation. Research findings focused on the disparities that exists between American Indian/Alaskan Native youth compared to youth from other ethnic groups related to both victimization and delinquency. The research team continues to develop the data from this analysis for dissemination at other venues.

Project EASE enters fifth round of training

Tom Pavkov, Ph.D. — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 23:31:39 +0000

Project EASE will begin its fifth round of training on February 5th and 6th. The two day training will focus on best practices in mentoring programs. It is targeted at individuals who are currently involved in managing mentoring programs or those who are interested in starting a mentoring program. For more information on the training, contact Dr. Richard Hug at hugr@iun.edu.