Center for Families

Kristine Marceau – Prosociality, which refers to dispositions to allocate one’s attention and energy to the needs of others, is indicative of social proficiency and adaptive functioning in adolescence. Greater abilities for self-regulation in adolescence are widely considered to foster prosociality, including physiological regulation, and particularly activity within the parasympathetic nervous system.

Breanya Hogue – Critical Race Theory (CRT), an academic framework for understanding systems of racial oppression, has entered the mainstream vernacular, alongside efforts by lawmakers and parental rights groups like Moms for Liberty to ban “divisive concepts” in classrooms, including DEI, race, gender identity, and histories of oppression.

Patti Thomas & Libby Richards – This study examined whether patterns of relationship quality between parents and adult children were associated with the onset of ADL disability in later life.

David Purpura – In the present study, we examine if the spatial-math link is moderated by executive function in preschoolers, with a particular interest in which aspects of executive function may serve as moderators for this relation.

Laura Schwab-Reese – Sexual minority (SM) individuals experience higher rates of victimization and chronic physical health conditions. There are also known differences by gender in both victimization rates and victimization-linked chronic physical health conditions.

Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth – Families experiencing homelessness and housing instability face myriad challenges affecting the health outcomes of parents and children. Despite these hardships, resilience and family resilience among this population can contribute to positive outcomes with individuals and families emerging stronger amid adversity.

Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth – The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational module on improving parent’s ability to identify National Guard and Reserve children at-risk for mental health abnormities.

Center for Families announces the 2025 Funding Recipients – Congratulations faculty and students focused on research about families!

Throughout the 30th anniversary year, the Center for Families has been working with our faculty partners and council members to explore ideas and partnerships that will last beyond a celebration and continue to strengthen research about families throughout Purdue University.

Ellen Ernst Kossek has been named to the 2025-26 fellows class for the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford University