Research Projects

Families and Parenting

Current Projects

Durham Children’s Initiative Evaluation

July 2011 - Ongoing

Project Description The Durham Children’s Initiative (DCI) (formerly East Durham Children’s Initiative) is a place-based, nonprofit organization that supports children and families from cradle to college or career. Established in 2010, DCI’s vision is that all children in Durham graduate from high school ready for college or career. To achieve this vision, DCI provides children…

read more about Durham Children’s Initiative Evaluation

Baby’s First Years Study

August 2019 - Ongoing

Baby’s First Years is a pathbreaking study of the causal impact of monthly, unconditional cash gifts to low-income mothers and their children in the first three years of the child’s life. The cash gifts are funded through charitable foundations. The study will identify whether reducing poverty can affect early childhood development and the family processes that support children’s development.

read more about Baby’s First Years Study

Durham Navigation Study

October 2021 - April 2024

The Durham Navigation Study is a randomized control trial to evaluate the impact of Community Navigation on outcomes for young children and their families.

read more about Durham Navigation Study

Child and Adolescent Predictors of Young Adults’ and Their Parents’ Primals in Nine Countries

July 2022 - June 2024

This study provides an unprecedented opportunity to understand whether and how primals in early adulthood are predicted by childhood and adolescent experiences and how parents’ primals are related to their young adult children’s primals in the most diverse long-term longitudinal study ever conducted.

read more about Child and Adolescent Predictors of Young Adults’ and Their Parents’ Primals in Nine Countries

Positive Parenting App Study

October 2022 - September 2024

Project Description This study of the postive parenting app tests the feasibility and effectiveness of a mobile-based app intervention designed to enhance home visiting by providing in-the-moment parenting tips with the goal of increasing healthy parent-child interactions leading to resiliency in high-risk children. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) profoundly influence brain and behavioral development and long-term…

read more about Positive Parenting App Study

Risk and Resilience in Ukraine: Individual, Family, and Community Predictors of Adolescent and Young Adult Adjustment

November 2023 - August 2024

This research project will collect data from youth enrolled in universities across Ukraine during the winter of 2023. Data will include changes in adjustment, wellbeing, and optimism, along with substance use. Data will provide insights into how best to support the mental health of young people during a global crisis.

read more about Risk and Resilience in Ukraine: Individual, Family, and Community Predictors of Adolescent and Young Adult Adjustment

Past Projects