Maureen Weiss, PhD, professor in the School of Kinesiology, was referenced in an article on the Girls on the Run SoleMates program recently published in NWIndianaLife.com. The program sponsors charity running events to raise money to support the popular youth program.

Dr. Weiss, who conducted a 2017 study on the effects of the program, found that Girls on the Run can promote positive youth development in the areas of competence, confidence, connection, character, caring, physical activity, and life skills. The study also found that Girls on the Run makes a stronger impact than organized sports and physical education programs in teaching life skills, demonstrating that strategies such as those for managing emotions, resolving conflict, helping others, and making intentional decisions are optimized when they are explicitly taught.