Focus Area News Post

A Guide to Finding Evidence-Based Programs for Substance Use Prevention

Elizabeth Porter2023-11-18T03:03:19+00:00

November 17, 2023, Durham, NC – Substance misuse can have many harmful effects on the health and daily lives of young people; however, decades of research has shown that substance use prevention programs may effectively reduce the risk for substance use in youth and young adults. Some prevention programs have been shown to increase youth or young adults’ skills, knowledge, support, and/or resources to make more healthy, informed decisions about alcohol, drugs, and tobacco use; reduce their intentions to use substances in the future; or positively impact their beliefs about substances and substance use norms. When selecting a substance use prevention [...]

A Guide to Finding Evidence-Based Programs for Substance Use PreventionElizabeth Porter2023-11-18T03:03:19+00:00

iRT to Present at The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality’s Annual Conference

Elizabeth Porter2023-11-15T14:36:53+00:00

October 31, 2023, Durham, NC – iRT Research Scientists Drs. Christina Dodson and Reina Evans-Paulson will present at the 2023 meeting of The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality’s (SSSS) annual conference in New Orleans, Louisiana this November. Each year, SSSS invites professionals who conduct sexual research, who are interested in issues relating to sexuality, or whose work relates to sexual science to gather for networking opportunities, workshops, symposia, and presentations to share recent findings in sexual research and discuss topics related to sexuality. Dodson and Evans-Paulson will attend this year’s conference, which will be held November 16-19, 2023, to [...]

iRT to Present at The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality’s Annual ConferenceElizabeth Porter2023-11-15T14:36:53+00:00

iRT Releases New Asset-Based, Goal-Oriented Activity Guide for Youth Mentors

Elizabeth Porter2023-11-17T14:48:15+00:00

October 25, 2023, Durham, NC – iRT is pleased to announce the release of Building Assets Together: A Guide for Youth Mentors. Before and throughout their mentoring relationships, mentors often ask staff at their mentoring program for ideas for activities to do with their mentee. Most staff have readily available lists, websites, or brochures of activities to provide to mentors to address this request; however, these resources may not provide clear guidance to mentors for planning activities that incorporate their match’s specific goals, align with their mentee’s strengths and interests, or directly contribute to positive outcomes for their mentee. Research [...]

iRT Releases New Asset-Based, Goal-Oriented Activity Guide for Youth MentorsElizabeth Porter2023-11-17T14:48:15+00:00

iRT Design Services Helps Clients Bring Their Ideas to Life

Elizabeth Porter2023-10-23T20:02:10+00:00

October 23, 2023, Durham, NC – iRT Design Services, a division of iRT, is dedicated to helping others bring their ideas to life through graphic design, multimedia production, course development, Learning Management System support, and more. iRT’s creative team of designers and developers have years of experience and expertise in delivering beautiful, usable SCORM-based e-Learning courses, instructional materials for in-person training programs, web applications, and informational materials to clients around the world. From graphic design to data collection, we use our skills to help clients meet their unique design needs. Design Services Our team of creative professionals offer an array of [...]

iRT Design Services Helps Clients Bring Their Ideas to LifeElizabeth Porter2023-10-23T20:02:10+00:00

Teaching High School Students to Build Networks of Support with the Connected Scholars Program

Elizabeth Porter2023-10-16T13:15:50+00:00

October 16, 2023, Durham, NC – Social capital, which is defined as the connections, relationships, and resources available to individuals, plays an instrumental part in college students’ academic and career success. By developing skills to locate and develop relationships with potential mentors around them, such as teachers, school staff, and employers, students may feel encouraged to stay enrolled in college classes and engaged in their academics. The process of learning and practicing skills to build social capital can begin before students even enroll in college; however, these lifelong skills are rarely taught. iRT President Dr. Janis Kupersmidt with Drs. Sarah Schwartz [...]

Teaching High School Students to Build Networks of Support with the Connected Scholars ProgramElizabeth Porter2023-10-16T13:15:50+00:00

iRT Awarded Grant to Identify Characteristics of Effective Mentors of Children of Incarcerated Parents

Elizabeth Porter2023-10-10T20:04:14+00:00

October 10, 2023, Durham, NC – iRT is pleased to announce that it has received a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to explore the characteristics of effective mentors who are mentoring children of incarcerated parents (COIP). Recent reports have shown that over 2.6 million youth have an incarcerated caregiver in the United States.1 COIP often face family instability, stigmatization, and stress that may put them at risk for negative developmental outcomes. For example, research has shown that COIP may be at an increased risk for substance use in late childhood and early adolescence, including alcohol, cannabis, and [...]

iRT Awarded Grant to Identify Characteristics of Effective Mentors of Children of Incarcerated ParentsElizabeth Porter2023-10-10T20:04:14+00:00

iRT Researchers Present on the Importance of Media Literacy Education-Based Sex Education Programs for the ECHO@edu Program

Elizabeth Porter2023-09-25T13:52:12+00:00

September 25, 2023, Durham, NC – Research has shown that comprehensive, inclusive, medically-accurate sex education can positively impact youth and young adults’ decisions about their sexual health, beliefs about relationships, and attitudes towards sexual violence. However, some middle school and high school students receive inaccurate or incomplete sex education, and others may not receive sex education at all. The gaps in standardized middle and high school sex education highlight an important opportunity for colleges to offer comprehensive, medically-accurate sex education to students, so young adults can make more informed decisions about their sexual health and foster healthy relationships. This topic was [...]

iRT Researchers Present on the Importance of Media Literacy Education-Based Sex Education Programs for the ECHO@edu ProgramElizabeth Porter2023-09-25T13:52:12+00:00

iRT to Develop Virtual Reality Training for Law Enforcement to Detect Impaired Drivers

Elizabeth Porter2023-09-20T18:05:07+00:00

September 20, 2023, Durham, NC – Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of preventable death for both children and adults, and many of these crashes are caused by drug- and alcohol-impaired driving. Despite the dangers associated with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, recent data has shown that only a small portion of self-reported impaired drivers are identified by law enforcement as driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Providing standardized training to law enforcement officers to help them build or refine their skills and confidence in detecting impaired drivers, particularly those impaired by drugs other than [...]

iRT to Develop Virtual Reality Training for Law Enforcement to Detect Impaired DriversElizabeth Porter2023-09-20T18:05:07+00:00

iRT Reflects on the 2023 National Prevention Network Conference

Elizabeth Porter2023-08-31T14:57:19+00:00

August 31, 2023, Durham, NC – iRT President Dr. Janis Kupersmidt and Research Scientist Dr. Rebecca Stelter represented Prevention Central, a division of iRT, at the 2023 National Prevention Network (NPN) Conference in Birmingham, Alabama this month. Prevention professionals, coalition leaders, researchers, and federal partners gather at the NPN Conference each year to discuss recent research and best practices in the field of substance misuse prevention. Prevention Central sponsored an exhibit booth at the 2023 NPN Conference to share its many programs with colleagues, including evidence-based media literacy and mindfulness education programs for the prevention of substance use, safe driving programs, [...]

iRT Reflects on the 2023 National Prevention Network ConferenceElizabeth Porter2023-08-31T14:57:19+00:00

New Research Published on the Protective Influence of Critical Media Attitudes on Adolescent Sexual and Relationship Health

Elizabeth Porter2023-08-30T14:35:45+00:00

August 30, 2023, Durham, NC – As online pornography platforms become more accessible, adolescents are more regularly exposed to sexually explicit material, and at increasingly younger ages. Pornography often depicts male-perpetrated physical aggression paired with sexual activity, and studies have shown that adolescent pornography use is associated with adherence to traditional gender role norms, beliefs in notions of women as sex objects, and acceptance of dating and sexual violence. Given that these harmful beliefs may impact adolescents’ current and future sexual and relationship behaviors, and contribute to dating violence and sexual assault perpetration, it is important to understand how adolescents can [...]

New Research Published on the Protective Influence of Critical Media Attitudes on Adolescent Sexual and Relationship HealthElizabeth Porter2023-08-30T14:35:45+00:00