Research and News from the Center for Families at Purdue University

November 1, 2024

Parental and Caregiver Feeding Styles and Practices and Consuming a Dietary Pattern that is Aligned with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans: A Systematic Review

Heather Eicher-Miller

This systematic review was conducted by the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee as part of the process to develop the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030. The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Agriculture (USDA) appointed the 2025...

November 1, 2024

Mode of pandemic school instruction associated with distress among military and non-military-connected students

Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth

Because they experience unique risk factors, students from military families may have responded differently to remote school instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic.

October 30, 2024

Lability in parent–child warmth and hostility and adolescent externalizing behaviors

Kristine Marceau

Both longer term developmental changes (increases in hostility, decreases in warmth) and lability (year-to-year fluctuations) in parent–child relationship quality across childhood and adolescence have been linked to adolescent externalizing behaviors.

October 30, 2024

US dietary guidelines could recommend Americans eat less meat and potatoes. Expect a food fight.

Heather Eicher-Miller

Beef groups slammed recommendations for consumers to increase their protein intake via beans, peas and lentils, calling the proposal “unhinged.”

October 30, 2024

Structural risks and family adjustment in midwestern Latine immigrant families: Extending the family stress model

Zoe Taylor

We tested an extended family stress model of economic hardship (FSM; Conger et al., 2010) incorporating structural risks (discrimination, immigration, and COVID-19 experiences) and qualitative data, to better understand the impact of culturally relevant experiences on family stress processes in...

October 30, 2024

Sales of baby food pouches have increased by 900 percent. Experts think that’s a problem

Kameron Moding

Baby food pouches are in high demand with sales reportedly increasing by 900 percent, but doctors believe this could lead to problems down the road.

October 29, 2024

High infidelity? Purdue HHS researcher examines ‘suspicion confirmation and avoidance strategies’ in romantic relationships

Rosie Shrout

Your romantic partner is coming home late more often. They are on their phone constantly. They are acting a little cagey lately. Should you be suspicious of cheating?

October 27, 2024

“You’re made to feel like you’re the crazy one”: an interpretive description of former college student-athletes’ views of emotional abuse

Travis Dorsch

Many normalized coaching behaviors are often abusive yet are seen by coaches and athletes as instrumental in achievement and competition. The current study was designed to extend past research and theory by subjectively exploring how and why former intercollegiate athletes...

October 26, 2024

Children’s friendship stability in the United States, China, and Indonesia: Associations with individual attributes and dyadic similarity

Kristine Marceau

Predictors of friendship stability from individual attributes and dyadic similarities were assessed using cross-classified multilevel analyses in this 6- to 8-month longitudinal study of 10-year-old US, Chinese, and Indonesian children with complete participation and reciprocated baseline friendships.

October 24, 2024

Navigating the cancer care continuum: A comparative study of Black and White breast cancer patients

Cleveland Shields

Despite improvements in early detection and therapeutic interventions, the mortality rate for Black breast cancer patients is still significantly higher than that of White breast cancer patients.