Kogan recognized for advancing family-centered prevention science

Steve Kogan, Athletic Association Professor of Human Development in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences’ department of human development and family science and senior investigator at UGA’s Center for Family Research, has been named a Fellow of the Society for Prevention Research.

This honor reflects more than two decades of research focused on understanding and strengthening the role of families in promoting positive youth development — particularly among youth facing structural disadvantage.

Kogan’s professional journey began not in a laboratory but in the counseling room. Before entering academia, he trained and worked as a family therapist — an experience he says continues to inform his research today.

“We often focus on individuals without considering how deeply we are shaped by the systems of relationships in which we grow,” Kogan said. “That early experience grounded me in the belief that supporting nurturing relationships in general, and families in particular, is essential to promoting well-being.”

His work has provided rigorous evidence that family-centered prevention programs — particularly those that combine structure, warmth and cultural affirmation — can reduce substance use, depressive symptoms and risk behaviors in youth, especially in rural and under-resourced communities. These findings have informed the development, evaluation and dissemination of interventions such as the Strong African American Families program, which continues to influence national prevention strategies.

Kogan’s current research explores how digital environments can extend access and strengthen relational supports. In collaboration with colleagues from the Mary Frances Early College of Education, Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication and the Center for Family Research, he is co-leading development of the SAFE Place — an online, school-integrated ecosystem supporting youth, parents and teachers. Based on decades of research on family-centered prevention, the SAFE Place includes interactive learning modules, coaching and closed-group network support aimed at fostering youth self-regulation, academic engagement and family-school collaboration.

“Too often, we’ve seen technology used in ways that isolate and undermine young people’s development and mental health,” he said.

The goal with the SAFE Place is to flip that script and design digital environments where youth, parents and teachers can build trust, share strategies and support one another. Kogan emphasizes that the SAFE Place is not a content delivery system but a space rooted in developmental science and media psychology in which relationships can be built.

“We’re using technology to activate the kinds of relationships that protect youth — not replace them,” he said.

Whether working with families face-to-face or through digital tools, Kogan says he remains committed to a core idea: that when we invest in families, we create conditions where children can thrive.