The Adolescent Health Promotion Lab is overseen by Dr. Elizabeth Weybright, and includes undergraduate Human Development and graduate Prevention Science students. Recognizing adolescence as a critical period of biological, cognitive, and social development, we seek to promote health and prevention risk behavior within out of school time contexts. Using a prevention science framework we work to identify what contributes to healthy adolescent development and use this information to develop and/or refine preventive interventions that promote the health of adolescents and emerging adults.

Research Projects, Programs, and Opportunities
Recent News
October 2023
New publications out on health behavior, substance use, and firearm carrying.
- Agans, J. P., Son, J. S., Powers, S. L., *Hanna, S. R., & Weybright, E. H. (2023). College students’ healthy leisure: Latent profile analyses of constraints and negotiation strategies. Leisure Sciences. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400.2023.2252434
- Ellyson, A. M., Schleimer, J. P., Dalve, K., Gause, E., Weybright, E. H., Kuklinski, M. R., Oesterle, S., & Rowhani-Rahbar, A. (2023). The association of alcohol use and heavy drinking with subsequent handgun carrying among youth from rural areas. The Journal of Rural Health, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/jrh.12789
- *Doering, E. L., Weybright, E., Anderson, A., *Murphy, K., & Caldwell, L. (2023). Associations between trait boredom and frequency of cannabis, alcohol, and tobacco use in college students. Cannabis [Special Issue]. Advance online publication.
May 2023
Congratulations to Spring 2023 graduates!
- Big congratulations to Elizabeth Purser, who is finishing up her Masters in Prevention Science and walked in Spring graduation!

- Undergraduate research assistants, Rittick Nandy and Gavin Mina, also graduated with their Bachelor’s degrees! Here’s a photo of Rittick (right) and Gavin (left) presenting a lab poster.

Dr. Weybright joins the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine as Affiliate Faculty
- Dr. Weybright has joined the Department of Community and Behavioral Health in WSU’s Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine as an Affiliate Faculty member. See more about the department here: https://medicine.wsu.edu/dcp/department-of-community-and-behavioral-health/
Dr. Weybright and colleagues’ work on rural firearm injury prevention was highlighted in the WSU Insider
- A recent press release focused on work Dr. Weybright has done in partnership with colleagues in WSU Extension and at University of Washington. Read the full story here: https://news.wsu.edu/press-release/2023/05/18/community-prevention-systems-can-reduce-gun-violence-among-youth-in-rural-areas/
April 2023
Dr. Weybright joins the Firearm Injury & Policy Research Program as Affiliate Faculty!
- Dr. Weybright has joined University of Washington’s Firearm Injury & Policy Research Program as an Affiliate Faculty Member. See more information on this program here: https://sph.washington.edu/public-health-research/FIPRP.
New publication on impact of prevention systems on handgun carrying behaviors.
- Dr. Weybright is a co-author on a new article published in JAMA Network Open titled Effect of the Communities That Care Prevention System on Adolescent Handgun Carrying
A Cluster-Randomized Clinical Trial. FInd the article here: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/article-abstract/2803249. See press release here: https://news.cahnrs.wsu.edu/article/community-prevention-systems-can-reduce-gun-violence-among-youth-in-rural-areas/.
Dr. Weybright and lab members presented their research at the Society for Research on Adolescence!
- Dr. Weybright served as Program Co-Chair for the first annual SRA meeting in San Diego, CA. The in-person meeting was the culmination of over a year’s worth of planning!

- Congratulations to lab members who presented!
- Purser, E. & Weybright, E. (2023, April). Another Brick in the Wall: How are school risk and protective factors associated with adolescent hope? Poster presented at the Society for Research on Adolescence Annual Conference, San Diego, CA.
- Watters, C., Weybright, E., Hampilos, K., Purser, E., Doering, E., White, A., Greer, M., Fees, J., Varrella, G., & McDonell, M. (2023, April). “I never realized how hard recovery is.” Evaluation of a youth participatory action research project for opioid misuse prevention. Paper presented at the annual meeting of Society for Research on Adolescence, San Diego, CA.
- Hampilos, K., Pascoe, K., Weybright E., Martinez, A. D., Cooper, B., Doering, E., & *Purser, E. (2023, April). Addressing youth cannabis use in a legalized context: Pilot evaluation of an adapted substance use prevention program for youth and families. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence, San Diego, CA.

January 2023 – Dr. Weybright and colleagues present rural opioid needs assessment data.
Led by Dr. Kriegel with colleagues from the College of Medicine, our team from the Center for Rural Opioid Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery presented a poster on rural provider barriers and needs at the Society for Social Work and Research annual conference.

November 2022 – Dr. Weybright and colleagues present at inaugural firearm injury prevention meeting.
Dr. Weybright and colleagues from Extension (Hernandez Hall, Varrella) as well as University of Washington (Rowhani-Rahbar) presented a poster on rural adolescents definition of firearm-related terms. This meeting was the first meeting of the National Research Conference on Firearm Injury Prevention.

September 2022
CROP+TR receives additional funding!
Co-directors Dr. Weybright and Dr. Michael McDonell have received continued funding for the Center for Rural Opioid Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery. https://www.croptr.org/
This new $1.3 million dollars in funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will expand CROP+TR’s work to serve the entire SAMSHA Region 10 including Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska. Our team is also expanding to include Dr. Allison Myers from Oregon State University. This collaboration is expanding CROP+TR into the Northwest Rural Opioid Technical Assistance Collaborative. https://www.nwrotac.org/
CROP+TR’s efforts related to mental health promotion and suicide prevention are highlighted in WSU article.
This recent story from WSU on rural suicide prevention mentions some recent efforts by Dr. Weybright and colleagues in Extension.
August 2022 – New articles on boredom and COVID-19 out!
Dr. Weybright and colleagues, Drs. Sammy Perone and Alana Anderson and graduate students Erica Doering and Claire McMeen have co-authored two new papers on boredom and COVID-19. See more details below and links to the full articles.
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Anderson, A. J., *McMeen, C. E., Perone, S., & Weybright, E. H. (2022). Sound and silence: The effects of environmental conditions on state boredom [Special Issue]. Behavioral Sciences, 12(8), 282. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs12080282
- Weybright, E. H., Doering E. L., & Perone, S. (2022). Difficulties with emotion regulation during COVID-19 and associations with boredom in college students [Special Issue]. Behavioral Sciences, 12(8), 296. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs12080296
May 2022 – Dr. Weybright, students, and staff were represented at SPR!
Dr. Weybright, graduate students Erica Doering, Elizabeth Purser, and Anaderi Iniguez, and research coordinators Kate Hampilos and Kelley Pascoe are involved with the below presentations at this year’s Society for Prevention Research Conference.
- Poster: South African Students’ Perceptions of Healthy and Unhealthy Leisure
- Co-Authors: Lisa Wegner, PhD, Professor, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa, Makhaya Malema, Masters, Lecturer, University Of The Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa, Claudia Wegner, BSc, Masters student, University Of The Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa, Elizabeth Weybright, PhD, Associate Professor, Washington State University, Pullman, WA and Linda Lee Caldwell, PhD, Professor, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA

- Presentation: Shifting the Conversation from Obesity Prevention to Weight Inclusive Health Promotion
- Co-Authors: Alexandra Jackson, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Washington State University, Seattle, WA, Jane Lanigan, PhD, Professor, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA and Anaderi Iniguez, BA, Graduate Student, Washington State University, Pullman, WA
- Poster: Suicide Prevention and Postvention for Vulnerable Communities in Washington State: Results and Policy Implications from Two Literature Reviews
- Co-authors: Jordan A. Newburg, MA, Elizabeth Purser, BA, Brittany Cooper, PhD, Elizabeth Weybright, PhD3, Kelley Pascoe, MSW, MPH and Katherine Hampilos, ND, MS
- Presentation: Hungry or Bored? Lasting Experiences of Boredom at the Onset of the Pandemic on Eating Behaviors
- Co-authors: Alexandra Jackson, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA, Alana J Anderson, MS, Doctoral Student, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, Elizabeth Weybright, PhD, Associate Professor, Washington State University, Pullman, WA and Jane Lanigan, PhD, Professor, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA
- Presentation: The Role of Boredom Susceptibility in the Frequency of Substance Use Among College Students
- Co-authors: Erica Doering, MS, Doctoral Student, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, Elizabeth Weybright, PhD, Associate Professor, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, Kyle Murphy, MS, Doctoral Candidate, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, Sammy Perone, PhD, Assistant Professor, Washington State University, Pullman, WA and Linda Lee Caldwell, PhD, Professor, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA

- Presentation: Cooperative Extension As a “Missing Piece” of Opioid Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Efforts in Rural Communities.
- Co-authors: Elizabeth Weybright, PhD, Associate Professor, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, Katherine Hampilos, ND, MS, Associate, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, Erica Doering, MS, Doctoral Student, Washington State University, Pullman, WA and Michael G. McDonell, PhD, Associate Director, Washington State University, Spokane, WA

April 2022
Dr. Weybright receives CAHNRS award!
- Dr. Weybright is the recipient of the CAHNRS Faculty Excellence in Extension award. She was recognized at the awards banquet in April. See information on all award winners here: https://news.cahnrs.wsu.edu/article/excellence-across-cahnrs-honored-in-22-faculty-and-staff-awards/
New article alert!
- Dr. Weybright co-authored an article with Penn State and University of Idaho colleagues on young adult perceptions of healthy and unhealthy leisure. Read the article here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02614367.2022.2055773
- Dr. Weybright is part of a team of investigators looking at firearm research. A new publication led by Dr. Alice Ellyson in JAMA Network Open titled: Trajectories of handgun carrying in rural communities from early adolescence to young adulthood. Read the article here: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2790618
March 2022
CROP+TR wins award and lab members presented their research at SRA and TALS!
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Dr. Weybright, graduate students, and colleagues, accept the SRA award. On behalf of CROP+TR, Dr. Weybright accepted the Organizational Award for Excellence in Research and Programming for Youth from the Society for Research on Adolescence. See full story here: https://news.cahnrs.wsu.edu/youth-led-action-to-heal-opioid-epidemic-earns-society-honors-for-croptr/
- Dr. Weybright and graduate students presented at the 2022 Society for Research on Adolescence conference in New Orleans.
- Doering, E., Weybright, E., Caldwell, L. (2022, March). “Mom, I am SO bored!”: The role of parents in adolescent boredom.
- Weybright, E., Hampilos, K., Doering, E., Larkin, T., White, A., Varrella, G., Fees, J., Greer, M., Purser, E., & McDonell, M. (2022, March). Youth participatory action research for substance use prevention.
- Hampilos, K., Weybright, E., Diaz Martinez, A., Cooper, B., Pascoe, K., DiGennaro, S., Leach, J., Varrella, G., & Fees, J. (2022, March). Pivoting an evidence-based program for virtual delivery: A case study of Washington State’s Strengthening Families Program for Parents and Youth 10-14.
- Graduate student Erica Doering presented at the Academy of Leisure Sciences virtual conference and Dr. Jen Agans presented work co-authored by Dr. Weybright.
- Doering, E. L., Weybright, E., Caldwell, L., & Perone, S. (2022, March). “Can’t you see that I’m getting bored?”: College Students’ Conceptualization of Boredom.
- Agans, J. P., Son, J. S., Powers, S. L., Hanna, S. R., Weybright, E. H. (2022, March). Profiles of leisure constraints and negotiation among college students: A person-centered analysis. Recording here: https://psu.mediaspace.kaltura.com/media/Jen+Agans%27s+Personal+Meeting+Room/1_44z0x32z
Dr. Weybright featured in Dr. Universe.
- Dr. Weybright was featured in Dr. Universe to talk about why we feel bored. See the full post here: https://askdruniverse.wsu.edu/2022/03/04/people-feelings-like-boredom-happiness-sadness-love/