Research and News from the Center for Families at Purdue University

March 23, 2023

Testing Theoretical Explanations for Heterogeneity in Associations Between a State Quality Rating and Improvement System and Prekindergarten Children’s Academic Performance

Does high-quality prekindergarten disproportionately benefits children based on their entering ability levels?

March 22, 2023

Tackling Housing Concerns at the State-Level: Lessons From Family Impact Seminars (NCFR Policy Brief)

Suboptimal housing severely interferes with individual and family well-being, including children and caregivers. This is of concern because housing instability among families with children in the United States has risen since the 2008 recession, and it increased markedly during the...

March 9, 2023

Center for Early Learning prepares children to take giant leaps in early STEM learning

“Every time I think about these amazing initiatives that Purdue is embarking on to educate the next generation of STEM leaders, it keeps bringing me back to the earliest years of learning because none of what we want to do...

March 7, 2023

Women’s History Month: Susan Kontos, founding director of Purdue’s Center for Families

Susan Kontos joined the Purdue University faculty in 1985 in what is now the Department of Human Development and Family Science. Kontos was an international authority as a top-notch researcher who investigated young children’s development through the lens of their...

March 7, 2023

Colorful sidewalks move tourists

"...It’s putting in environmental cues that encourage healthy behavior. ...If you come back and think about it from the broader perspective of a tourist, they are going to be in some type of an unfamiliar environment. So, what types of...

March 3, 2023

Intersectionality and Adverse Childhood Experiences: Comparing Subgroups of Sex, Race/Ethnicity, and Sexual Orientation

This study investigated the intersectionality of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among subgroups of sex, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Using data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey across 34 states from 2009 to 2018, authors stratified subgroups of sex (male/female),...

March 1, 2023

Life-course social connectedness: Comparing data-driven and theoretical classifications as predictors of functional limitations in adulthood

A life course perspective on social relationships highlights the importance of specific relationships at specific times in life, but analyses that account for life course trajectories in social relationships are rare.

March 1, 2023

Variations in early life home environment quality and children’s achievement

The current study examines to what extent naturally occurring variation in the timing of home environment quality during the first five years of life differentially predicts achievement before school entry and at the end-of-elementary school.

March 1, 2023

An Exploratory Model of Shared Decision-Making in Women’s Reproductive Health in Indiana: A Cross-Sectional Study

Ecological approaches to shared decision-making (SDM) are underexplored in women’s reproductivehealth. The purpose was to identify ecological factors important to women in contraceptive and prenatalcare SDM.

March 1, 2023

Preliminary findings from a study relating the effects of hearing loss and listening conditions on postural sway to fall risk in older adults

Hearing loss is associated with increased fall risk in older adults, but multiple mechanisms have been proposed to account for this. Hearing loss may reduce spatial awareness and/or increase cognitive load, both of which may increase fall risk but may...