Adolescent Positivity and Future Orientation, Parental Psychological Control, and Young Adult Internalising Behaviours during COVID-19 in Nine Countries
February 14, 2022
This study investigated associations between COVID-19-related disruption and perception of increases in internalising symptoms among young adults and whether these associations were moderated by earlier measures of adolescent positivity and future orientation and parental psychological control.
Electronic Health Record Tools to Identify Child Maltreatment: Scoping Literature Review and Key Informant Interviews
February 4, 2022
We conducted a scoping literature review and key informant interviews of child maltreatment experts to (1) document the existing research evidence on the performance of EHR-based child abuse screens (EHR-CA-S) and clinical decision support systems (EHR-CA-CDSS )and (2) examine clinical perspectives regarding the use of such tools and factors that affect uptake. We find that current evidence does not support adoption of a particular CA-S or CA-CDSS and that further refinement of these tools is necessary.
The impact of a poverty reduction intervention on infant brain activity
January 24, 2022
Data from the Baby’s First Years study, a randomized control trial, show that a predictable, monthly unconditional cash transfer given to low-income families may have a causal impact on infant brain activity.
Transitioning to virtual interaction during the COVID-19 pandemic: Impact on the family connects postpartum home visiting program activity
January 12, 2022
In this paper, we analyze program activity for Family Connects (FC), an evidencebased postpartum home-visiting intervention, during the COVID-19 pandemic. When the pandemic began, FC transitioned to a virtual protocol which maintains key psychosocial components of the in-person protocol and adjusts health assessments to address the lack of in-person contact.
Home Visiting Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Program Activity Analysis for Family Connects
January 12, 2022
Early reports highlighted challenges in delivering home visiting programs virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic but the extent of the changes in program implementation and their implications remains unknown. We examine program activity and families’ perceptions of virtual home visiting during the first nine months of the pandemic using implementation data for Family Connects (FC), an evidence-based and MIECHV-eligible, postpartum nurse home visiting program.
Evaluation of a Family Connects Dissemination to Four High-Poverty Rural Counties
January 12, 2022
Home visiting is a popular approach to improving the health and well-being of families with infants and young children in the United States; but, to date, no home visiting program has achieved population impact for families in rural communities. The current report includes evaluation results from the dissemination of a brief, universal postpartum home visiting program to four high-poverty rural counties.
Culture and Social Change in Mothers’ and Fathers’ Individualism, Collectivism and Parenting Attitudes
November 30, 2021
Historically, individualism vs. collectivism has been a main organizing framework for understanding cultural differences in family life. This study examines parents in nine countries to understand their individualism, collectivism and parenting attitudes. They found parenting attitudes are predicted by a range of sociodemographic factors.
Parent–adolescent relationship quality as a moderator of links between COVID-19 disruption and reported changes in mothers’ and young adults’ adjustment in five countries.
November 23, 2021
This study capitalizes on a longitudinal, cross-national study of parenting, adolescent development, and young adult competence to document the association between personal disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic and reported changes in internalizing and externalizing behavior in young adults and their mothers since the pandemic began.
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on substance use among adults without children, parents, and adolescents
October 16, 2021
Impact 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.
Light-touch design enhancements can boost parent engagement in math activities
September 1, 2021
Early proficiency in math skills is increasingly being seen as an independent area worthy of early curriculum development and policy investment to reduce socioeconomic disparities in children’s school readiness.
Understanding Patterns of Food Insecurity and Family Well-Being Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic Using Daily Surveys
September 1, 2021
This paper investigates economic and psychological hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic among a diverse sample of socioeconomically disadvantaged parents and their elementary school-aged children. Longitudinal models revealed that food insecurity, negative parent and child mood, and child misbehavior significantly increased when schools closed; only food insecurity and parent depression later decreased.
Development of individuals’ own and perceptions of peers’ substance use from early adolescence to adulthood
September 1, 2021
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.
Childhood Gun Access, Adult Suicidality, and Crime
August 18, 2021
Analyses were based on a 20+ year prospective, community-representative study of 1420 children, who were assessed up to 8 times during childhood (ages 9–16; 6674 observations) about access to guns in their home.
Childhood Wealth Inequality in the United States: Implications for Social Stratification and Well-Being
August 1, 2021
Wealth inequality—the unequal distribution of assets and debts across a population—has reached historic levels in the United States, particularly for households with children.
Effect of a Universal Postpartum Nurse Home Visiting Program on Child Maltreatment and Emergency Medical Care at 5 Years of Age: A Randomized Clinical Trial
July 7, 2021
The Family Connects (FC) program, a community-wide nurse home visiting program for newborns, has been shown to provide benefits for children and families through the first 5 years of life.
Insurance Barriers, Gendering, and Access: Interviews with Central North Carolinian Women About Their Health Care Experiences
May 1, 2021
Women face unique logistical and financial barriers to health care access.
Lower neural value signaling in the prefrontal cortex is related to childhood family income and depressive symptomatology during adolescence
Journal Articles |
Adolescence to Adulthood
Families and Parenting
Poverty and Inequality
Social Emotional Health and Well-Being
April 1, 2021
Lower family income during childhood is related to increased rates of adolescent depression, though the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood.
Clearing gang- and drug-involved nonfatal shootings
March 10, 2021
Clearance rates for nonfatal shootings, especially cases involving gang- and drug-related violence, are disturbingly low in many US cities.
Do Teacher Assistants Improve Student Outcomes? Evidence From School Funding Cutbacks in North Carolina
February 16, 2021
This article examines the influence of teacher assistants and other personnel on outcomes for elementary school students during a period of recession-induced cutbacks in teacher assistants.
Heightened immigration enforcement impacts US citizens’ birth outcomes: Evidence from early ICE interventions in North Carolina
February 3, 2021
We examine how increased Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activities impacted newborn health and prenatal care utilization in North Carolina around the time Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act was first being implemented within the state.
Getting Tough? The Effects of Discretionary Principal Discipline on Student Outcomes
February 1, 2021
Nationwide, school principals are given wide discretion to use disciplinary tools like suspension and expulsion to create a safe learning environment.
Work Schedule Unpredictability: Daily Occurrence and Effects on Working Parents’ Well-Being
Journal Articles |
Families and Parenting
Poverty and Inequality
Social Emotional Health and Well-Being
February 1, 2021
Family science has long considered the ways in which parents’ experiences in the workplace can affect families.
Gunshot-victim cooperation with police investigations: Results from the Chicago Inmate Survey
February 1, 2021
Just one in ten nonfatal shootings in Chicago lead to an arrest.
School Segregation at the Classroom Level in a Southern ‘New Destination’ State
January 13, 2021
Using detailed administrative data for public schools, we document racial and ethnic segregation at the classroom level in North Carolina, a state that has experienced a sharp increase in Hispanic enrollment.
Net Worth Poverty in Child Households by Race and Ethnicity, 1989–2019
November 26, 2020
This study is the first to examine net worth poverty, and its intersection with income poverty, by race and ethnicity among child households in the United States.
COVID-19 and Parent-Child Psychological Well-being
October 1, 2020
The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 has changed American society in ways that are difficult to capture in a timely manner.
Brazil’s Missing Infants: Zika Risk Changes Reproductive Behavior
October 1, 2020
Zika virus epidemics have potential large-scale population effects. Controlled studies of mice and nonhuman primates indicate that Zika affects fecundity, raising concerns about miscarriage in human populations.
Mothers and fathers in the criminal justice system and children’s child protective services involvement
March 1, 2020
Parents charged with a criminal offense had higher rates of having a child protective services (CPS) assessment/investigation during the three years preceding the charge than parents who were not charged. Changing parental incarceration rates would change CPS caseloads substantially.
Gender Differences in the Impact of North Carolina’s Early Care and Education Initiatives on Student Outcomes in Elementary School
March 1, 2020
Based on growing evidence of the long-term benefits of enriched early childhood experiences, we evaluate the potential for addressing gender disparities in elementary school through early care and education programs.
Mothers’ and Fathers’ Time Spent with Children in the U.S.: Variations by Race/Ethnicity Within Income from 2003 to 2013
February 10, 2020
Using data from the American Time Use Survey, we examine the empirically underexplored ways in which racial and ethnic identity shapes parental time use.
Agricultural Fires and Health at Birth
October 1, 2019
Fire has long served as a tool in agriculture, but the practice’s link with economic activity has made its health consequences difficult to study.
Raising the bar for college admission: North Carolina’s increase in minimum math course requirements
July 1, 2019
Charles T. Clotfelter, Steven W. Hemelt, Helen F. Ladd Education Finance and Policy (2019) 14 (3): 492–521. https://doi.org/10.1162/edfp_a_00258
Bringing Organizations Back In: Multilevel Feedback Effects on Individual Civic Inclusion
May 1, 2019
Policy feedback scholarship has focused on how laws and their implementation affect either organizations (e.g., their resources, priorities, political opportunities, or incentive structures) or individuals (e.g., their civic skills and resources or their psychological orientations toward the state).
Professionals, friends, and confidants: After-school staff as social support to low-income parents
March 1, 2019
Policy makers, practitioners, and researchers have emphasized the importance of supportive relationships between staff and parents in early childhood education settings and schools.
WIC Recipients in the Retail Environment: A Qualitative Study Assessing Customer Experience and Satisfaction
November 27, 2018
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program is an important intervention for prevention and treatment of obesity and food insecurity, but participation has dropped among eligible populations from 2009 to 2015.
Impact of a Neuroscience-Based Health Education Course on High School Students’ Health Knowledge, Beliefs, and Behaviors.
October 1, 2018
The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the potential of an innovative high school neuroscience-based health course for implementation feasibility and impact on student outcomes.
Predicting Patterns of Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration From Late Adolescence to Young Adulthood
August 23, 2018
Saint-Eloi Cadely et al. found longitudinal patterns for the perpetration of both psychological and physical intimate partner violence (IPV), including actively and minimally aggressive patterns.
Improving Young English Learners’ Language and Literacy Skills Through Teacher Professional Development: A Randomized Controlled Trial
September 19, 2017
Using a randomized controlled trial, we tested a new teacher professional development program for increasing the language and literacy skills of young Latino English learners with 45 teachers and 105 students in 12 elementary schools.
Multifaceted Aid for Low-Income Students and College Outcomes: Evidence From North Carolina
August 10, 2017
We study the evolution of a campus-based aid program for low-income students that began with grant-heavy financial aid and later added a suite of nonfinancial supports.
Impact of North Carolina’s Early Childhood Programs and Policies on Educational Outcomes in Elementary School
November 17, 2016
North Carolina’s Smart Start and More at Four (MAF) early childhood programs were evaluated through the end of elementary school (age 11) by estimating the impact of state funding allocations to programs in each of 100 counties across 13 consecutive years on outcomes for all children in each county-year group (n = 1,004,571; 49% female; 61% non-Latinx White, 30% African American, 4% Latinx, 5% other).
Evaluation of a Public Awareness Campaign to Prevent High School Dropout
June 29, 2016
Many advocacy organizations devote time and resources to increasing community awareness and educating the public in an effort to gain support for their issue.
Impact of North Carolina’s Early Childhood Initiatives on Special Education Placements in Third Grade
December 1, 2015
This study examines the community-wide effects of investments in two early childhood initiatives in North Carolina (Smart Start and More at Four) on the likelihood of a student being placed into special education.