Center for Families

Harnessing the power of faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends to improve our quality of life.

August 15, 2023

Maternal smoking cessation study reveals ‘inheritable’ impacts on child development

In 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that in the United States “5.5% of all births were to women who reported smoking cigarettes at any time during pregnancy.” That translates to almost 200,000 children who were at...

August 13, 2023

Can we please stop calling it ‘mom brain’?

It’s beyond time to rebrand the concept of “mom brain”. The reductive term has too many negative connotations and isn’t even accurate. Instead, it’s important to focus on the positive changes in our brains after we become mothers, a recent...

August 8, 2023

Congratulations 2023 Kanter Award Winners!

Anette Fasang and Silke Aisenbrey are the winning authors for their article Uncovering social stratification: Intersectional inequalities in work and family life courses by gender and race.

August 7, 2023

Intimate Partner Violence and Inflammaging: Conflict Tactics Predict Inflammation Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults

Rosie Shrout

In long-term relationships, conflict is inevitable, but physical and psychological aggression is not. Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a known risk factor for age-related disease onset, and inflammation likely links the two. This study explores relationships between frequency of constructive...

August 7, 2023

Goldilocks and the home mathematics environment: Parents’ rate activities‘too easy,’‘just right,’or‘too hard’ across early development

David Purpura

Research focusing on the home mathematics environment has shown mixed results across age groups. Using data from a large online survey, we explored parents' perceptions of the age appropriateness of home mathematics activities for their children

August 4, 2023

Don’t Take a Workcation! A plea for a healthier kind of travel.

Ellen Ernst Kossek

Around 80 percent of remote workers are more open to workcations than they were two years ago, a Marriott survey of 2,000 of them found, with a similar percentage identifying it as a promising way to extend a trip. A...

August 1, 2023

Palliative care needs and preferences of older adults with advanced or serious chronic illnesses and their families in rural communities of Indiana, USA

Nasreen Lalani

Rural family caregivers experience several social inequities and disparities causing a lack of access to and low utilization of palliative care. All these disparities cause several challenges for patients and their families trying to manage serious illnesses and die in...

July 31, 2023

MFRI: Registration open for Battlemind to Home Summit

Battlemind is one of the most engaging conferences in the state, designed especially for those who work with service members, veterans and their families, bringing together subject matter experts to educate Indiana professionals about the critical issues facing our military and...

July 28, 2023

‘I’m a soldier first’: Senior, Black female vets share experience in U.S. Military

Being a soldier runs deep in Aletha Calloway’s family. Her mother, father and two uncles were all in the U.S. Military. Growing up, she recalls many times when her family sat in their Washington D.C. kitchen, talking about their service....

July 27, 2023

Neurofluid coupling during sleep and wake states

A.J. Schwichtenberg

In clinical populations, the movement of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) during sleep is a growing area of research with potential mechanistic connections in both neurodegenerative (e.g., Alzheimer's Disease) and neurodevelopmental disorders. However, we know relatively little about the processes that influence...