Save the Date! OSLC's biennial conference will be held April 16 and 17 at the Downtown Athletic Club in Eugene. Watch this space for updates and information about registration, coming soon.
Keynote Speaker: Rick Harrington, Ph.D.
Dr. Harrington’s research endeavors include publications in the areas of biofeedback, personality, and well-being. He is the author of a Wadsworth/Cengage (2012) textbook that covers the integrated topics of stress, health, and well-being. The instructor’s edition describes the textbook as follows: “Author Rick Harrington, licensed psychologist and professor, presents a thorough investigation of the mind-body connection as it relates to managing stress in this first edition of Stress, Health, & Well-Being: Thriving in the 21st Century. With an empirically grounded approach, the text integrates classical study of stress and health with findings from the burgeoning field of positive psychology. The result is a balanced coverage of the current scientific understanding of stress, enriched by data analysis and practical applications for productive management of this pervasive force in our modern times.”
Conference Presentations
Deborah M. Capaldi, Ph.D., OSLC Research Scientist
"Substance use across the lifespan and across generations: Continuity and change."
Substance use is a major issue in the 21st Century, affecting families in a number of ways, such as by causing breakdowns in relationships and health. Findings from 30-year Oregon Youth Study and related Couples and Intergenerational studies will be presented regarding risk factors for development of substance use (particularly alcohol and marijuana use), differential patterns of substance use over time, the prevalence of polysubstance use, changes in patterns of substance use in adulthood, and evidence for continuity in substance use from parents to children.
Joann Wu Shortt, Ph.D., OSLC Research Scientist
"Predicting Intimate Partner Violence for Young Adults and Their Romantic Partners"
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is increasingly recognized as a complex and major public health problem. A substantial number of romantic relationships involve IPV. IPV adversely impacts physical and mental health, and can be a precursor to future violence. The current OSLC research study takes a novel approach to examining whether family, peer, youth adjustment, and romantic relationship factors predict physical, psychological, and sexual IPV and injuries in young adulthood. Study results will assist in the modification and revision of current theories of IPV, which in turn will inform the development of prevention and intervention programs to decrease IPV and promote healthy romantic relationships.
Ashli J. Sheidow, Ph.D., OSLC Research Scientist
"Competing with teen drug use: Effective and creative reinforcement systems and other strategies"
Parents and clinicians struggle to intervene successfully on adolescents’ use of substances. Research shows it is one of the most difficult teen problems to treat, with low success rates and high relapse rates. Although behavior modification strategies can be effective, finding ways to compete effectively with drug use and peer influences can be quite difficult. This presentation will discuss creative strategies to use in modifying teens’ drug use and other behaviors, with practical take-home tips and information sharing.
Mike McCart, Ph.D., OSLC Research Scientist
"Promoting Resilience Following Trauma: Evidence-Informed Strategies for Victims and Helping Professionals"
Youth and adults in the U.S. are exposed to high rates of traumatic life events. Although trauma exposure can increase one’s risk for mental health problems, the vast majority of victims are able to maintain healthy and relatively stable levels of functioning. This presentation will discuss specific coping strategies, identified through clinical and epidemiological research, which might promote such resilience among victims of trauma. In addition, because routine service delivery with trauma victims can take an emotional toll on helping professionals (e.g., child welfare workers, police officers, victim advocates), this presentation also will cover techniques that professionals can use to maintain resilience in the context of their work.
Lisa Saldana, Ph.D., OSLC Research Scientist
"The Families Actively Improving Relationships (FAIR) Program: Addressing the Co-Occurring Challenges of Parental Substance Abuse"
The co-occurrence of parental substance abuse and child neglect represents a disproportionate percentage of referrals to the child welfare system. This presentation will describe the FAIR program, an intensive outpatient program for families referred to child welfare with complications of substance abuse. Specific program components and strategies will be defined and pilot outcomes demonstrating the preliminary success of the program will be provided.