Kristina P. Brant, Ph.D.
- Assistant Professor of Rural Sociology
- Social Science Research Institute Co-funded Faculty Member
University Park, PA 16802
- Email kmb8133@psu.edu
Areas of Expertise
- Appalachia
- Child welfare system
- Criminal legal system
- Qualitative methods
- Rural health
- Rural poverty
- Substance use
Websites
Education
- Ph.D., Harvard University, 2021
- MA, Harvard University, 2018
- BA, University of Chicago, 2014
Through interdisciplinary, mixed-methods, community-engaged research and the development of research-informed Extension programs, my scholarship aims to explore and support the health of rural U.S. communities and families.
Research Interests
My core research program has two foci: I interrogate how rural families experience substance use, and I examine aspects of the rural risk environment that shape vulnerabilities to substance use-related harms and opportunities for recovery. I take a particular geographic focus on rural Pennsylvania and the broader Appalachian region. Current projects explore the impacts of broadband access on substance use harms in rural Appalachia, the impacts of climate change-related flooding on substance use harms in rural Appalachia, the impacts of the opioid settlement in Pennsylvania, and access to MOUD and harm reduction in rural Pennsylvania.
In past work, I have also studied primary care access in rural Pennsylvania, emergency food access in rural Pennsylvania, people's utilization of social support networks, and the impacts of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
My work has been published in numerous sociology and substance use journals, including American Sociological Review and Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences. My projects have been funded by USDA NIFA, the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, and the National Science Foundation.
Extension Interests
Through my role as an Extension faculty member, I seek to help Extension educators and other service providers work with vulnerable populations, particularly people who use(d) drugs and kinship families, and I aim to support these populations directly and to reduce public stigma towards these populations through community-based education.
My Extension work is rooted in providing direction and support to two teams within the Food, Families, and Communities unit—the Relatives as Parents Program (RAPP) team and the Substance Use Education team. Current projects include the development of a curriculum for kinship caregiver support groups, the development of a recovery-friendly workplace initiative, and an exploration of how nutrition education and Master Gardener programs can support people who use(d) drugs and reduce community stigma.
My Extension work has been supported by the Extension Foundation.
