Allison Dymnicki Awarded American Psychological Association’s Emory L. Cowen Dissertation Award for the Promotion of Wellness

Washington, D.C. – Allison Dymnicki, a researcher at the American Institutes for Research (AIR), has been awarded the Emory L. Cowen Dissertation Award for the Promotion of Wellness by the Society for Community Research and Action (SCRA), a division of the American Psychological Association (APA). The award identifies the best doctoral dissertation of the year in the promotion of wellness, which includes the areas of positive well-being and the prevention of dysfunction.

Dymnicki’s dissertation, “The Relation of School Factors to Changes Associated with a Violence Prevention Program,” sought to understand how the ecological characteristics of a school, such as the quality of relationships among school members and the seriousness of safety problems, influence the effectiveness of prevention programs.

Dymnicki’s study found that the interaction of these two factors predicted the short- and long-term outcomes of prevention programs. In addition, the study provides a measure that researchers can use to choose promising sites for school-based prevention efforts.

The award will be presented at the American Psychological Association, Division 27 SCRA Business Meeting on Saturday, August 4th in Orlando, Florida.

About AIR
Established in 1946, with headquarters in Washington, D.C., the American Institutes for Research (AIR) is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance both domestically and internationally in the areas of health, education, and workforce productivity. For more information, visit www.air.org.

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