Diana Fishbein
PROFESSOR HDFS/CENTER DIRECTOR PREVENTION RESEARCH CENTER, Human Development and Family Studies | Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA, UNITED STATES
Diana Fishbein is a leader in the interdisciplinary approach to prevention-based health research
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Industry Expertise (2)
Research
Education/Learning
Areas of Expertise (2)
Behavioral Neuroscience
Prevention Science
Biography
Diana Fishbein is the director of the Prevention Research Center, a leader in the interdisciplinary approach to prevention-based health research. She is also a professor in human development and family studies.
Accomplishments (3)
SPR Fellow (professional)
Society for Prevention Research, 2017
Translational Science Award (professional)
Society for Prevention Research, 2016
Public Service Award (professional)
Society for Prevention Research, 2015
Education (4)
University of Maryland School of Medicine: Post-Doctoral Fellow, Neuroscience 1984
Florida State University: Ph.D., Criminology and Psychobiology 1981
Florida State University: M.S., Criminology 1977
Florida State University: B.S., Criminology and Psychobiology 1976
Affiliations (3)
- Network on Child Protection and Well-Being : Member
- NIH Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) consortium grant program : External Advisor
- ENIGMA-Addiction project : Co-Investigator
Links (3)
Media Appearances (1)
Diana H. Fishbein named director of Prevention Research Center
Penn State News online
2015-05-21
Diana H. Fishbein has been named director of the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center and professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Penn State. She will hold the C. Eugene Bennett Chair in Prevention Research. Her appointment will become effective July 1.
Articles (5)
Translating Prevention Research for Evidence-Based Policymaking: Results from the Research-to-Policy Collaboration Pilot
Prevention Science
Max Crowley, Taylor Bishop Scott, Diana Fishbein
2017 The importance of basing public policy on sound scientific evidence is increasingly being recognized, yet many barriers continue to slow the translation of prevention research into legislative action. This work reports on the feasibility of a model for overcoming these barriers—known as the Research-to-Policy Collaboration (RPC). The RPC employs strategic legislative needs assessments and a rapid response researcher network to accelerate the translation of research findings into usable knowledge for policymakers. Evaluation findings revealed that this model can successfully mobilize prevention scientists, engage legislative offices, connect policymakers and experts in prevention, and elicit congressional requests for evidence on effective prevention strategies. On average, the RPC model costs $3510 to implement per legislative office. The RPC can elicit requests for evidence at an average cost of $444 per request. The implications of this work, opportunities for optimizing project elements, and plans for future work are discussed. Ultimately, this project signals that the use of scientific knowledge of prevention in policymaking can be greatly augmented through strategic investment in translational efforts.
Neurodevelopmental Precursors and Consequences of Substance Use during Adolescence: Promises and Pitfalls of Longitudinal Neuroimaging Strategies
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
Fishbein DH, Rose EJ, Darcey V, Belcher A and VanMeter J
2016 Neurocognitive and emotional regulatory deficits in substance users are often attributed to misuse; however most studies do not include a substance-naïve baseline to justify that conclusion. The etiological literature suggests that pre-existing deficits may contribute to the onset and escalation of use that are then exacerbated by subsequent use. To address this, there is burgeoning interest in conducting prospective, longitudinal neuroimaging studies to isolate neurodevelopmental precursors and consequences of adolescent substance misuse, as reflected in recent initiatives such as the NIH-led Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study and the National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment (NCANDA). To distinguish neurodevelopmental precursors from the consequences of adolescent substance use specifically, prospective, longitudinal neuroimaging studies with substance-naïve pre-adolescents are needed. The exemplar described in this article—i.e., the ongoing Adolescent Development Study (ADS)—used a targeted recruitment strategy to bolster the numbers of pre-adolescent individuals who were at increased risk of substance use (i.e., “high-risk”) in a sample that was relatively small for longitudinal studies of similar phenomena, but historically large for neuroimaging (i.e., N = 135; 11–13 years of age). At baseline participants underwent MRI testing and a large complement of cognitive and behavioral assessments along with genetics, stress physiology and interviews. The study methods include repeating these measures at three time points (i.e., baseline/Wave 1, Wave 2 and Wave 3), 18 months apart. In this article, rather than outlining specific study outcomes, we describe the breadth of the numerous complexities and challenges involved in conducting this type of prospective, longitudinal neuroimaging study and “lessons learned” for subsequent efforts are discussed. While these types of large longitudinal neuroimaging studies present a number of logistical and scientific challenges, the wealth of information obtained about the precursors and consequences of adolescent substance use provides unique insights into the neurobiological bases for adolescent substance use that will lay the groundwork for targeted interventions.
The full translational spectrum of prevention science
Translational Behavioral Medicine
Diana H. Fishbein
2016 A new generation of research now demonstrates that individual differences in risk for psychopathology result from intrapersonal and environmental modulation of neurophysiologic and genetic substrates. This transdisciplinary model suggests that, in any given individual, the number of genetic variants implicated in high-risk behaviors and the way in which they are assorted and ultimately suppressed or activated by experiential and contextual factors will help to explain propensity and ultimate outcomes. Thus, risk can be amplified or reduced based on characteristics of an individual and his/her environment.
Short-Term Intervention Effects of the PATHS Curriculum in Young Low-Income Children: Capitalizing on Plasticity
The Journal of Primary Prevention
Fishbein, D.H., Domitrovich, C., Williams, J., Gitukui, S., Shapiro, D., Greenberg, M.
2016 Deficits in behavioral and cognitive regulation are prevalent in children reared in poverty relative to more affluent children due to the effects of adverse conditions on the developmental underpinnings of these skills. Despite evidence to suggest that these emergent processes are susceptible to environmental inputs, research documenting short-term intervention program influences on these regulatory domains in young impoverished children is limited. We sought to determine the proximal effects of a universal school-based intervention (the PATHS Curriculum) on social, emotional, relational, and cognitive outcomes in urban poor kindergarten children. Four schools in high-poverty neighborhoods with similar demographic characteristics were randomly assigned to either PATHS or an attentional control. Teacher-reported measures of behavior (e.g., attention, concentration, aggression), peer nominations (e.g., likability, aggression, acceptance), and tasks gauging inhibitory control were administered in the fall of kindergarten and again in the spring after one academic year (about 6 months) of PATHS. Children who received PATHS exhibited significantly greater improvements than control students across all teacher-rated behavioral measures of social competence (i.e., emotion regulation, prosocial behavior, peer relations) and behavioral problems (i.e., aggression, internalizing behaviors, impulsivity and hyperactivity) at post-test as well as improvements in motor inhibition. This line of research constitutes an important frontier for prevention research given the implications for improving ultimate outcomes for otherwise disadvantaged children.
Neurocognitive Characteristics of Early Marijuana Use Initiation in Adolescents: A Signature Mapping Analysis
Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs
Fishbein, D.H., Novak, S.P., Ridenour, T., Thornburg, V., Hammond, J., Brown, J.
2016 Prior studies of the association between neurocognitive functions and marijuana use among adolescents are mostly cross-sectional and conducted in adolescents who have already initiated marijuana use. The current study used a longitudinal design on a preadolescent, substance-naive sample. We sought to identify demographic factors associated with neurocognitive functions and the complement of neurocognitive function characteristics that predict marijuana initiation in adolescents.
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