HDFS Department Research Projects

The Department of Human Development and Family Studies is devoted to interdisciplinary research, lifespan development, and prevention. A sample of research projects in progress are listed here (For a more detailed description of faculty research interests, go to HDFS Faculty and view the individual bios):

ACTIVE — Advanced Cognitive Training for Vital Elders (Sherry L. Willis, Principal Investigator of Penn State Site). ACTIVE is a randomized controlled trial funded by the National Institute on Aging and the National Institute of Nursing Research to test the effects of cognitive interventions on maintaining or improving function of older adults. Three distinct interventions are targeted at improving memory, reasoning, or speed of information processing. Training interventions in these three cognitive domains have been found to be successful in improving elders' performance on basic measures of cognition. This trial takes the important next step to investigate if training-related improvement in cognitive function transfers to improved or sustained function in tasks of everyday living, The trial involves over 2000 older adults at six sites and includes cognitive, demographic, health, and functional data over six occasions.

Family Relationships Project (Ann Crouter, Ph.D., and Susan McHale, Ph.D.). This project is a NICHD-funded longitudinal study of gender socialization in dual-earner families. The study began when the two oldest children in each participating family were about ages 10 and 8 and will continue following the families until the eldest completes high school. Paying equal attention to mothers and fathers and studying two children in each family enables a comparison not only across different families but also within them. The ultimate goal is to compare the unfolding gender-related experiences, attitudes, and competencies of sons versus daughters in families that vary as a function of mothers' and fathers' work and family roles.

The Girls Needs Project and the Child Eating Lab (Leann Birch, Ph.D.). The goal of the Children's Eating Lab is to examine the nature and development of children's eating behaviors. Currently, the lab is focused on a 5-year longitudinal study entitled the Girls' NEEDS (Nutrition, Early Experience, and Development) Project.

HDFS Children's Programs. The college operates two full-day early childhood programs (The Child Development Lab and the Bennett Family Center) serving a total of 176 children from 6 weeks through six years of age. While the programs do not hold research grants, they do support research conducted by faculty, graduate students, and honors undergraduates from across the university.

Capital Area Early Childhood Training Institute (Richard Fiene, Director) The link to the website is ecti.hbg.psu.edu/

HealthWise South Africa (Ed Smith, D. Ph.). Researchers from the Prevention Research Center and from the University of the Western Cape and the University of Cape Town in South Africa are conducting a five-year randomized trial to test the effectiveness of HealthWise, a comprehensive universal prevention program to reduce the risk of HIV/AIDS and STDs, as well as substance use, among adolescents in South Africa. This program integrates a two-year school-based curriculum with other school and community resources.

The Infant Temperament Lab and Emotional Beginnings Project (Cynthia Stifter, Ph.D.). The Emotional Beginnings Project is one of several studies being conducted at the Infant Temperament Lab. This study investigatesthe development and outcomes of emotion regulation. Their hypothesis is that infants who do not develop effective regulatory strategies may have difficulty controlling behavior and thus be at greater risk for behavior problems.

Longitudinal Studies of Adult Cognitive Development(K. Warner Schaie, Ph.D.). The Seattle Longitudinal Study (SLS), begun in 1956, has been a major resource for monitoring age and cohort trends in adult cognitive development, providing normative data for assessment instruments used with older adults, exploring the causes of individual differences in aging, and assessing the effects of targeted cognitive interventions within the context of a longitudinal study.

Midlife Functioning and Outcomes (Sherry L. Willis, Director) The goal of this project is to examine whether cognitive status and change in middleage are predictive of rate of subsequent decline in old age. Adults who exhibit early decline in midlife may be at higher risk for an accelerated rate of decline in old age. Midlife Cognitive Risk criteria will be developed. Midlife participants will be further characterized by neuropsychological assessment, APOE genotyping, and health histories. To examine the association of brain volume and cognitive change, baseline measures and rate of atrophy in selected brain regions will be assessed by structural MRI. Longitudinal data on participants' engagement in stimulating cognitive activities will be assessed. This project is funded by the National Institute on Aging.

Multilevel ARMA and Dynamic Models for the Longitudinal Study of Human Interactions (Michael J. Rovine, Principal Investigator, Penn State University). Time series methods are used to model phenomena as varied as patterns in the weather, fluctuations in the stock market, changes in populations, quality of industrial products, patterns of sleep, physiological characteristics such as heart rate, blood pressure, and brain wave activity, and the flight of the space shuttle. The use of these methods, which are so common in the areas of engineering and econometrics and which seem so naturally suited for application in the study of human interactions have been surprisingly overlooked in the developmental sciences. In this proposal we will adapt, extend, and, where necessary, develop new methods that will be particularly well-suited to developmental research and the study of human interactions. We intend to implement these models in ways that will make them easily accessible to developmental researchers studying human interaction. We will demonstrate the utility of these methods by analyzing data from the Infant and Child Temperament Study related to infant’s self regulation of emotion, and parent-infant interaction related to the parents ability to soothe a distressed child.

Promoting Co-Parenting (Mark Feinberg, Ph.D.). This project involves the development and pilot testing of an intervention to promote healthy family functioning during the transition to parenthood. The intervention is grounded by a theory of coparenting as a key construct mediating and moderating risk factors for negative parenting and child behavior problems. This program is being developed in coordination with childbirth educators, and will be implemented through local hospital childbirth education departments.

PROSPER (PROmoting School-community-university Partnerships to Enhance Resilience) (Mark Greenberg, Ph.D. and Mark Feinberg, Ph.D). In collaboration with Iowa State University, the Prevention Research Center is participating in the PROSPER Project. The goal of PROSPER is to utilize the combined efforts of prevention scientists, the Cooperative Extension system, and local schools and community leaders to develop community partnerships that strengthen families and help young people avoid substance abuse and behavioral problems. PROSPER promotes the development of sustainable partnerships among schools, communities and universities, in order to facilitate the delivery of evidence-based interventions designed to reduce adolescent substance use and problem behaviors and to promote youth competence.

REACH (Mark Greenberg, Ph.D. and Celene Domitrovich, Ph.D.). The REACH Project, funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, supports both the implementation of an innovative model of preschool programming intended to create long-term systems change, and the evaluation of this initiative. The evaluation is a multi-level model. First, the project will follow the development of over 300 young children over a 6-year period to assess the model's effects on academic and social competence. Second, the effects of REACH on the attitudes and behaviors of both teachers and parents will be qualitatively assessed. Third, a process of evaluation of systems change will be conducted that includes assessment of school district operations, as well as broader systems change between the school district and community agencies, families, and other stakeholders.

Research Centers in the College of Health & Human Development

For a complete listing of research centers in the College of Health and Human Development, please go to the website at: http://www.hhdev.psu.edu/clinics/index.html