Center Research Faculty
Sarah Chilenski
Ph.D., The Pennsylvania State University, 2006
Research Associate, Prevention Research Center for the Promotion of Human Development
Program Area: Translation, Dissemination & Implementation
Contact Information
402 Marion Place
Phone: (814) 865-5205
Fax: (814) 865-6004
Research Interests
Community context, community-based interventions, measurement, community-based participatory research, prevention of adolescent substance use and delinquency, positive youth development
Examples of Current Prevention Projects
Partnership Model for Diffusion of Proven Prevention
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIH)
Start Date: 2001
Project Web Site
This project assesses the effectiveness of a model for the diffusion of empirically validated prevention programs focused on adolescent substance abuse and mental health. The project is being conducted in 14 communities in Iowa and Pennsylvania.
- Adoption and Implementation Support Innovations for PROSPER Partnership-based EBI Delivery Network (Iowa State University subcontract; Greenberg, PI)
- Toward a PROSPER State Partnership Network: Building Infrastructure and Capacity (Iowa State University subcontract; Greenberg, PI)
Recent Publications
Chilenski, S. M., Bumbarger, B. K., Kyler, S., & Greenberg, M. T. (2007). Reducing youth violence and delinquency in Pennsylvania: PCCD's Research-based Programs Initiative. University Park, PA: Prevention Research Center for the Promotion of Human Development, The Pennsylvania State University. [publication]
Greenberg, M. T., Feinberg, M. E., Chilenski, S. M., Spoth, R. L., & Redmond, C. (2007). Community and team member factors that influence the early phase functioning of community prevention teams: The PROSPER project. Journal of Primary Prevention, 28, 485–504.
Feinberg, M. E., Chilenski, S. M., Greenberg, M. T., Spoth, R. L., & Redmond, C. (2007). Community and team member factors that influence the operational phase of local team partnerships in prevention: The PROSPER project. Prevention Science, 8, 214–226.
Chilenski, S. M., Greenberg, M. T., & Feinberg, M. E. (2007). Community readiness as a multi-dimensional construct. Journal of Community Psychology, 35, 347–365.
Chilenski, S. M., & Greenberg, M. T. (2009). The importance of the community context in the epidemiology of early adolescent substance use and delinquency in rural and small town America. American Journal of Community Psychology,
44, 287–301.
Chilenski, S. M. (2010). We've come a long way baby . . . but we still have a long way to go (Review of M. E. O'Connell, T. Boat, & K. E. Warner (Eds.), Preventing Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders Among Young People: Progress and Possibilities). PsycCRITIQUES, 55(16). doi:10.1037/a0019207
Chilenski, S. M., Greenberg, M. T., & Feinberg, M. E. (2010). The community substance use environment: The development and predictive ability of a multi-method and multiple-reporter measure. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 20, 57–71.