Jennifer P. Agans

Jennifer P. Agans is an Associate Professor in the Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management at The Pennsylvania State University, affiliated with the Prevention Research Center (PRC). Her work supports the center's focus areas: Foundational Science, Promoting Human Flourishing, and Developing and Testing Innovative Interventions.

• Developmental Periods: Adolescence, Early Adulthood
• Level of Analysis: Individuals

Her research examines adolescent and young adult experiences in sport and recreational contexts, emphasizing links to lifelong positive development and health. Key themes include:

• Youth program evaluation methodologies
• Barriers to healthy leisure activities
• Circus arts applications in positive youth development
• Collaborative practitioner-researcher partnerships

Current initiatives feature the Exploration of Benefits of the Circus Arts for Positive Youth Development and research on college student leisure barriers (featured October 18, 2023). Scientific awards are not documented in available materials.

Advising and grants reflect applied work with youth organizations:

• Positive Coaching Alliance evaluations
• American Youth Circus Organization / American Circus Educators Association partnerships
• New York State 4-H program assessments

Labs and teams center on PRC Penn State's interdisciplinary prevention science framework, integrating community-based program evaluation with developmental research.