Projects

TechnoTeens

TechnoTeens is a NICHD R01-funded study where we are objectively tracking the internet and social media behaviors of 460 sexually abused and comparison teens longitudinally from age 12 to 15. This study aims to articulate the role of internet pornography and high-risk social media behaviors on sexual development and on internet-initiated victimization (including sexual exploitation, cyber bullying, “slut-shaming”, and sex-trafficking). This is the first study to objectively monitor internet activity and social media behaviors and to record and quantify adolescents’ “internet and social media footprints” in real-time. Results will inform internet safety campaigns for normative and at-risk teens.

Female Growth and Development Study (FGDS)

This is a 30-year longitudinal study of the consequences of child sexual abuse on female development. Now in its 8th wave of data collection via a R01 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), we are currently assessing this cohort (and their offspring) in terms of physical health outcomes, intergenerational transmission, and the identification of mechanisms of resilience. This research is also funded through a R01 from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) to assess the cohort’s daily stress-coping and premature cognitive aging.

Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Trial

The Safe and Healthy Communities Initiative is a comprehensive approach to sexual abuse prevention in 5 counties across Pennsylvania in a highly unique State/University partnership.  This initiative includes the coordination of evidence-based child sexual abuse prevention programs for adults in the community, school children, and at-risk parents. Programs will be delivered to 5% of the adult population (~71,000), 100% of second-graders (~17,000), and 100% of at-risk child welfare-involved parents. The aims are to empirically demonstrate that this coordinated effort (1) changes knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of participants, (2) impacts rates of child sexual abuse, and (3) raises public awareness at the population level. The ultimate goal is to create a sustainable model of sexual abuse prevention that can be used at a systems level in PA and across the US.

Child Maltreatment and Cardiovascular Disease Risk

This grant (R01HL158577; PI: Schreier) takes advantage of a large, well-characterized, prospective cohort of youth who were recently investigated for child maltreatment and comparison youth without a maltreatment history to better understand the physiological mechanisms between early adversity and cardiovascular diseases risk. By taking advantage of detailed assessments of immune function coupled with administrative health care records and thorough behavioral and psychosocial assessments, we will prospectively examine links between child maltreatment and cardiovascular disease risk, with the hopes of informing future prevention and intervention efforts.

System and Social Determinants of the Health of Foster Children project (R01 HD095946)

The System and Social Determinants of the Health of Foster Children project (1 R01 HD095946-01) will investigate the impact of specific foster care experiences on a range of health outcomes over time. In doing so, this proposal will inform efforts to improve longstanding problems of poor health among of one of the country’s most vulnerable populations. We will provide sound empirical evidence on the importance of current state and federal foster care priorities for foster children’s health. The investigative team for this project is Drs. Font (primary investigator), Noll, and Crowley (co-investigators).

Selected Grants

Selected Publications

• Noll, J. G., Trickett, P. K., Long, J. D., Negriff, S., Susman, E. J., Shalev, I., Li, J. C., Putnam, F.W. (2017). Childhood sexual abuse and early timing of puberty. Journal of Adolescent Health, 60(1), 65-71. PMID: 27836531. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2016.09.008

• Trickett, P. K., Noll, J. G., & Putnam, F. W. (2011). The impact of sexual abuse on female development: lessons from a multigenerational, longitudinal research study. Development and Psychopathology, 23, 453-476. PMID: 23786689 PMCID: PMC3693773. doi: 10.1017/S095457941000174

• Noll, J. G., Shenk, C. E., Barnes, J. E., & Haralson, K. J. (2013). Association of maltreatment with high risk internet behaviors and offline encounters. Pediatrics, 131(2), e510-e517. PMID: 23319522 PMCID: PMC3557406. doi:10.1542/peds.2012-1281

• Noll, J. G., & Shenk, C. E. (2013). Teen birth rates in sexually abused and neglected females. Pediatrics, 131, e1181-e1187. PMID: 23530173 PMCID: PMC3608488. doi:10.1542/peds.2012-3072 

• Noll J. G., Guastaferro K, Beal S. J., Schreier H. M. C., Barnes J., Reader J. M., & Font S. A. (2018). Is sexual abuse a unique predictor of sexual risk behaviors, pregnancy, and motherhood in adolescence? Journal of Research on Adolescence. PMID:30019514. doi: 10.1111/jora.12436