New research from Prevention Research Center of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE) and the University of Pittsburg Graduate School of Public Health reveals that the frequency of adolescent drinking in specific contexts are associated with specific alcohol-related problems. Importantly, these associations cannot be fully explained by heavier drinking in these contexts. For […]
Media Releases
COVID-19 Restrictions & Adolescent Tobacco Use
New research from Prevention Research Center of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE), PIRE- Louisville, the School of Public Health of the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Hawai’i Cancer Center finds that compliance with COVID-19 shelter-in-place (SIP) orders in California was associated with less adolescent use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes. […]
Youth Nicotine & Cannabis Vaping during the COVID-19 Pandemic Shutdown
New research from Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE) Louisville and the PIRE Prevention Research Center reveals that profound changes to daily life during the COVID-19 pandemic shaped nicotine and cannabis vaping practices among youth. During the pandemic shutdown, the authors conducted telephone interviews in August 2020 as part of a follow-up study with […]
Contexts of Young Adolescents’ Initiation to Alcohol Use and Intoxication
A new study from the Prevention Research Center of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation finds that initiation of heavy episodic drinking and intoxication were more likely to occur when close friends were present with an adolescent and when those close friends were also drinking. The study, which examined the physical, social, and situational […]
Alcohol-Involved Crashes among Whites and Hispanics in California.
New research from the Prevention Research Center of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation shows that, after 2008, the rate of alcohol-involved motor vehicle crashes (AMVCs) among whites declined. In comparison, after 2010, the rate of AMVCs among Hispanics increased. Using crash data from the California Highway patrol, the study findings also show that: […]
Adolescent Alcohol Initiation: Close Friendships and the Role of Trust
New research from the Prevention Research Center of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation focuses on adolescent alcohol initiation and finds that close peer relationships enhance feelings of safety among adolescents — even while engaging in risky behaviors. The study explored how close friendships are important to adolescents’ decisions to initiate drinking and heavy […]
Assessing The Effects of Alcohol Outlets on Crime
In an advanced application of social and economic geographic models of neighborhood conditions and crime, new research from the Prevention Research Center of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation and the Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences of the University of Pittsburg has demonstrated that: New alcohol outlets open near to one another […]
California’s Tobacco 21 Minimum Sales Age Law & Tobacco Use among Sexual Minority Adolescents
New research from the Prevention Research Center of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation investigates how California’s Tobacco 21 (T21) Minimum Age law, which became effective in June of 2016, affected tobacco use for sexual minority and non-sexual minority adolescents. The results demonstrate that California’s T21 law is generally associated with reductions in tobacco […]
Incorporating Intersectionality as a Framework for Equity-Minded Tobacco Control Research – A call for Collective Action toward a Paradigm Shift
A new commentary published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research, with co-authors who include the Chair of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE) Board of Directors, Dr. Pebbles Fagan and Prevention Research Center (PRC) Senior Research Scientist and Study Director Dr. Juliet Lee, urges the research field to work to eliminate tobacco-related health disparities […]
Daily Patterns + Characteristics of Adolescent Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) Use
A new study from the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation finds that, among adolescents who use ENDS, use is heavier on weekends than weekdays, flavored tobacco products are prevalent, and marijuana accompanied more than 1/4 of ENDS use episodes. To learn more about adolescent use of ENDS, scientists conducted a study with 50 adolescent […]
