Tony Biglan sits down with Mark Van Ryzin, Associate Research Professor at the University of Oregon and Research Scientist at the Oregon Research Institute, whose work explores how families, schools, and peer relationships shape children’s social, emotional, and behavioral development.

In this episode:

* Van Ryzin’s unlikely path from computer science to prevention science

* What attachment theory reveals about how children learn to relate to others

* Why adolescence marks a critical shift from parents to peers as attachment figures

* How cooperative learning transforms ordinary classroom instruction into a prevention tool

* The mechanics of small-group learning: roles, randomization, and building trust among students

* Why peer relationships are the “secret sauce” driving improvements in behavior, mental health, and substance use

* Four randomized trials and the evolution from teacher-led implementation to technology-assisted delivery

* Designing a “freshman success” curriculum to help ninth graders build study skills, emotional regulation, and social support

* The impact of cooperative learning on teacher stress, burnout, and job satisfaction

* Why evidence-based practices struggle to take hold in schools, and what it takes to build lasting change

* What’s next: creating lightweight, teacher-friendly tools—aided by AI—to make best practices easier to adopt

Takeaway: Restructuring how students interact in everyday classroom settings, not through separate add-on programs, may be one of the most powerful and scalable ways to improve peer relationships, mental health, and behavior in adolescents.

Host: Dr Anthony Biglan

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