Center for Families

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

May 15, 2019

This Is Why Modern Parenting Is So Damn Hard

Three-time semi finalist in the Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for Excellence in Work-Family Research, Dr. Jennifer Glass, knows modern parenting is hard. Very hard. Parents are asked to invest more in their kids but are guaranteed less by employers and

April 29, 2019

The science of puberty, understanding a critical period of biological and social development

Today’s puberty research is not just about endocrinology and metabolism, pediatrics and reproductive biology. According to a new study, the topics most written about include age, gender issues and obesity and diabetes. Combining those traditional foundations with new topics, researchers

April 29, 2019

Time doesn’t erase grief, strong emotions connected to the victims of mass shootings

“In terms of mass shootings, grief doesn’t just end,” said Heather Servaty-Seib, a Purdue professor who researches grief and loss. “You don’t have to know someone directly involved to still be seriously affected by it.”

April 29, 2019

CFF Director recognized for positive impact of work

Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth, PhD, CFF director, received Purdue College of Health and Human Sciences Engagement Award on April 26. The College recognizes faculty and staff who have demonstrated outstanding achievements in engagement activities that have positively impacted the stakeholders of...

April 29, 2019

The booming business of youth sports leaves some opportunities out of reach for kids of working families

From travel commitments to coaches’ salaries and equipment, the chance for kids to play can often come at an exorbitant cost; insight from Dr. Travis Dorsch, assistant professor at Utah State University and founding director of the Families in Sport

April 29, 2019

Hungry veterans need help. Here’s how communities can provide it

A recent study by Purdue University’s Military Family Research Institute at 10 faith-based food pantries in Indiana and Kentucky – five pantries in each state – suggests there is promise for underserved veterans and their families.

April 29, 2019

2018 international trends in work-family research

Kanter Research to Practice: The Brock-Wilson Center for Women in Management at Purdue University synthesized Kanter Award nominated articles to outline specific implications of the research for work-life and human resource professionals.

April 29, 2019

CFF Director honored with University engagement award

Purdue’s Office of Engagement named winners of the annual faculty and staff engagement awards for 2019 at a luncheon on April 16. Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth, PhD, CFF director, received the 2019 Faculty Engagement Fellow Award which recognized her work that...

April 29, 2019

The human cost of raising youth sports to a ‘$17 billion’ industry

A 2016 Families in Sport Lab study found that parents reported spending between 2 to 10 percent of their family’s gross annual household income on athletic activities, per child. “You think about families maybe that have two or three or

March 29, 2019

Children Are Using Text Crisis Lines To Report Abuse

Children are reaching out to text-based crisis communication hotlines to seek help for mental illness. Laura Schwab-Reese, PhD, finds they’re also using them as a method to report abuse.