Center for Families

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

August 26, 2023

The Mental Health Consequences of Sexual Identity Discrepancies

Trent Mize

Sexualities scholars have long been interested in situations in which a person’s sexual identity and behavior are mismatched—e.g., when a gay or lesbian-identified person remains “closeted” and only dates different-gender partners. We argue that this mismatch represents a useful proxy...

August 24, 2023

Nursing, Education faculty collaborate on U.S. Health and Human Services grant to improve graduate nursing education

Karen J. Foli (PI), and Wanju Huang (Co-PI), will collaborate on the project “Advanced Practice NuRses’ Opioid Use Disorder Education Through a Massive, Open, Online Course (APROUD-MOOC).”

August 23, 2023

Couples and concealable chronic illness: Investigating couples’ communication, coping, and relational well-being over time

Rosie Shrout

Couples managing chronic illnesses—the leading causes of death and disability in the United States—can experience challenges in their daily lives and relationships. Both couple members have reported lower satisfaction, greater burden, and communication difficulties. Many of these illnesses are nonvisible...

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...