LATE BREAKING ABSTRACT III: DIALOGUE ON DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS IN PREVENTION SCIENCE

Prevention scientists are the experts on some of the most controversial dialogues happening today. We are the individuals who know the science best on topics such as violence prevention (including gun violence), sexual harassment/assault prevention (#metoo), and health disparities for underrepresented minorities (discrimination, minority stress). National conversations are taking place led by youth, parents, educators, citizens, veterans, business leaders, celebrities, scientists, and policy makers regarding actions to create positive change after series of disasters and tragedies. In the past 6 months alone, major news outlets have reported on hurricanes that resulted in devastating outcomes for minority populations, mass shootings in Las Vegas and Florida, increased visibility for victims of sexual assault, and citizens injured and killed while protesting at rallies promoting white supremacy.

The momentum for dialogue and action is promising; however, there is a need to ensure that sound empirically informed speech is part of the dialogue. It is also critical to develop our ability and the ability of the next generation of prevention scientists to have difficult conversations on controversial topics in the field of prevention science. The purpose of this roundtable discussion is to discuss ways in which we can build our capacity to engage in and facilitate respectful dialogue and empirically-based actions.

The discussants for this roundtable are demographically and disciplinarily diverse. This panel includes an expert in adolescent development/prevention/policy (SD Lynne), an expert on school climate/policy (J Conway-Turner), an expert on bullying/sexual harassment/suicide prevention (DL Espelage), an expert on equitable outcomes among diverse youth in schools (E Pas), an expert on gun policy/violence prevention (DW Webster), and an expert on facilitating transformative dialogue on controversial topics (J Vanapalli). The unique perspectives and experiences of the panelists will provide opportunities to identify challenges across disciplines and discuss actionable strategies to improve the translation of prevention science across research, practice, and policy.