Altoona research lab sweeps criminal justice research competition for third year

ALTOONA, Pa. - The Penn State Altoona Integrated Social Science Research Lab (ISSRL) swept the undergraduate research poster competition at the 2026 Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Justice Educators (PACJE) conference. The conference was held March 27 and 28 at Seton Hill University in Greensburg.

This is the third year in a row the lab won first, second and third place in the competition.

Madison Adamiak, Dawson Coventry, Lilliana De Marco, and Makela Simpson won the first-place award for their poster "Do Words Matter? Understanding the Impact of Language Used in the Substance Use Treatment Community on Those with Lived and Vicarious Experience." Their project examined perceptions of stigmatizing and non-stigmatizing terminology in the substance use treatment community among those who use drugs and their loved ones. One of the biggest findings from the team's preliminary work is that terminology used in substance treatment does appear to matter to those most directly impacted by it, in that it can have detrimental effects on treatment initiation and outcomes. The project was done in support of the Douglas Pollock Center's PA Stigma Reduction Opioid Behavior Change Campaign, on which Nathan E. Kruis, associate professor of criminal justice and co-director of the ISSRL, serves as a core faculty member.

"It's great to have the opportunity to get our students involved in cross-campus collaborative research" said Kruis. "I have seen tremendous growth in their research aptitude throughout the process, and they have really helped us with the qualitative components of the project."

This was De Marco's first experience at PACJE.

"Attending my first presentation was both exciting and nerve-racking," said De Marco. "But with the help of my professors and peers, I was thoroughly prepared. Placing first at my first poster competition was extremely rewarding, and I am so excited to continue working on this project."

The team of Riley Fegley, Abigail Hayes, Emily Proctor, Maura Smith, and Frankie Stricker took second place in the competition. Their poster examined the relationship between college students' pornography consumption, Rape Myth Acceptance (RMA), and Mental Well-Being (MWB). They found no significant relationship between type or frequency of pornography consumption, RMA, and MBW.

"It was very exciting to present my research for the first time, a milestone I will never forget," remarked Smith, who joined the lab in the fall.

Ally Black, Devlin Glenn, Allan Golden, Abigail Hayes, and Frankie Stricker placed third in the competition for their experimental assessment of a community outreach program started by the Pennsylvania State Police in 2021.

Nicholas Rowland, distinguished professor of sociology and ISSRL co-director, said that their project was one of the most methodologically-sound that he had ever seen students at any level complete.

"Presenting a poster I had worked on for months and hearing what other people thought about it was a great experience," remarked Black. "I also really enjoyed learning about the research projects by students at different universities."

The Integrated Social Science Research Lab is embedded in the criminal justice and sociology programs at Penn State Altoona. The ISSRL is made possible by Penn State Altoona's Division of Business, Health, Humanities, and Social Sciences, headed by Nicholas L. Pyeatt, professor of political science.