Research and News from the Center for Families at Purdue University

March 30, 2023

Marital negativity’s festering wounds: The emotional, immunological, and relational toll of couples’ negative communication patterns

Dyadic stress theories and research suggest that couples' negative communication patterns threaten immune and emotional health, leaving partners vulnerable to illness. Spouses' relationship perceptions can also color how they see and react to marital discussions.

March 28, 2023

Urbanization, migration, and indigenous health in Peru

In 2019, we piloted an interdisciplinary project on Peruvian indigenous women's health. The study collected demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related data from women in two indigenous communities; one com-posed of rural farmers and the other of urban migrants.

March 25, 2023

Work-Family Balance and Perceived Business Outcomes among Copreneurial and Noncopreneurial Small Business Owners

Using data from the 2019 Small Business Values Survey we looked at differences in work-family balance characteristics, business characteristics, and owner characteristics between copreneur and noncopreneur small business owners.

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.