Understanding how families, systems, and public policies impact the social, emotional, and cognitive development of adolescents and young adults is at the heart of much of CCFP’s work. Our researchers engage in longitudinal studies, partnerships with state and local agencies serving youth and their families, and develop and evaluate innovative programs and services to understand and support youth development.
Children of incarcerated parents are six times more likely than other children to develop a substance use disorder as adults and nearly twice as likely to have diagnosable anxiety, according to new research from the Center for Child and Family Policy at Duke University. In addition, children whose parents were incarcerated are more likely to encounter significant…
DURHAM, N.C. — Young people who self-harm are three times more likely to commit violent crime than those who do not, according to new research from the Center for Child and Family Policy at Duke University. The study also found young people who harm themselves and commit violent crime — “dual harmers” — are more…
Project to augment the longitudinal Great Smoky Mountains Study (GSMS) to create a national data resource, the Great Smoky Mountains Study of Rural Aging (GSMS-RA), for the study of early determinants of the aging experience in a rural context. The GSMS began collecting data on children, now participants are entering their 40s.
learn more about Great Smoky Mountains Study of Rural AgingThis project builds on the ongoing Parenting Across Cultures (PAC) longitudinal study that began in 2008 with recruitment of a sample of 1,417 8-year-old children and their mothers and fathers from nine countries. In 2020, COVID-19-related questions were added to assess behavioral and emotional functioning in relation to the rapidly-evolving situation in each country’s response to the pandemic.
learn more about Parenting Across Cultures: COVID-19The objectives of this study are to understand mechanisms in the global context through which exposure to different types of adverse experiences in childhood increases risk of adverse behavioral and psychosocial outcomes into early adulthood.
learn more about Dimensions of Child Adversity and Health Risk Behaviors in Young AdulthoodMany childhood interventions target low-income and high-risk children, with evidence that some early interventions improve adult health and wellbeing. This study asks whether children who benefit from early interventions grow up to become better parents and, subsequently, have children who experience fewer health problems, educational challenges, and emotional problems.
learn more about Intergenerational Persistence of Treatment EffectsImpact of the COVID-19 pandemic on alcohol and illicit substance use among adults without children, parents, and adolescents was investigated through two studies with five samples from independent ongoing U.S. longitudinal studies.
This study evaluated how individuals’ own substance use and their perception of peers’ substance use predict each other across development from early adolescence to middle adulthood.
Lower family income during childhood is related to increased rates of adolescent depression, though the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood.
Edited by Jennifer Lansford and Drew Rothenberg with Marc Bornstein, this book shares findings from a study of parents and children in China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand and the United States. Each chapter is authored by a contributor native to the country examined. Together, the chapters provide a global understanding of parenting across cultures.