Kathryn Hynes, Ph.D.
2005, Cornell University
Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies and Demography
105R White Bldg.
(814) 863-6422
kbh13@psu.edu
Research
One research area focuses on understanding parents’ work-family decisions. A study with Marin Clarkberg described the employment trajectories of women during early parenthood and examined the characteristics of women following different trajectories. A qualitative project with Susan Singley examined the role of work-family policies and gender ideology in parents’ decisions about their work-family strategies during the transition to parenthood. Currently, I am studying the relationship between maternal employment and the amount of time fathers spend with their children. I am also starting a project examining stay-at-home fathers. When do fathers exit the labor force to care for children and how do couple-level, neighborhood, and peer factors influence their adaptation to this experience?
A related area focuses on social policies. Studies with Rachel Dunifon and Elizabeth Peters examined the effects of welfare reforms during the 1990s on family structure and child well-being. A related paper examined the stability of living arrangements for children in non-parental households, such as children living with grandparents or in foster care. Current research in this area includes working as part of a multi-institution collaborative headed by Elizabeth Peters at Cornell University that is studying the transition to fatherhood, including the individual, economic and social policy factors associated with becoming a father at various points in the life course. I am also particularly interested in international comparative research on systems of after-school care and other social policies.
I also currently involved in several projects focusing on child care and after-school programs. A recent study finds that individual children do not consistently receive low (or high) quality care across their early years, but that instead many children experience changes in their child care quality over time. Two projects are underway based on these findings. The first project seeks to understand the circumstances in which children are at risk of move into low quality care. The second will examine whether studying child care trajectories – including variation in care quality, type, and the duration of the child’s exposure to a particular arrangement – can inform our understanding of the role of child care in children’s development. My research on after-school programs focuses on understanding changes in both the percent and the characteristics of children using after-school programs, given considerable funding increases over the past decade.
Education
- University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, B.A., 1994, Psychology
- Rutgers - The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, M.A., 1997, Women's Studies
- Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, Ph.D., 2005, Sociology
Research and Professional Experience
- 1997-1999: Research Administrator, National Institute on Out-of-School Time, Wellesley College Center for Research on Women, Wellesley, MA.
- 1999: Consultant, The Children's Museum and the Boston 2:00-6:00 Initiative, Boston, MA.
- 2000-2003: Predoctoral Fellow, Cornell Employment and Family Careers Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
- 2002-2003: Assistant, Child Care Programs of Excellence Project, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
- 2003-2005: Research Assistant, Welfare Reform, Family Structure and Child Well-Being Project, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
- 2005: Post Doctoral Fellow, Transition to Fatherhood Program Project, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Honors
- 2001-2002: Cornell Careers Institute Summer Fellowship
- 2002: Graduate College Travel Grant, Cornell University
- 2000-2003: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship, Cornell Careers Institute
- 2003: Best Poster Award for Session #3, Population Association of America, Minneapolis, MN
Selected Publications
- Hynes, K., & Clarkberg, M. (2005). Wwomen's employment patterns during early parenthood: A group-based trajectory analysis. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67, 222-239.
- Singley, S., & Hynes, K. (2005). Transitions to parenthood: Work-family policies, gender and the couple context. Gender & Society, 19(3): 376-397.
- Dunifon, R., Hynes, K., & Peters, H.E. (2006). Welfare reform and child well-being. Children and Youth Services Review, 28, 1273-1292.
- Hynes, K., & Dunifon, R. (2007). Children in "no parent" households: The continuity of arrangements and the composition of households. Children and Youth Services Review, 29, 912-932.