In the past decade, policymakers and researchers have become increasingly interested in social programs that promote and support healthy marriages. A growing body of research evidence suggests that marriage has benefits for families and children, including improved economic well-being and mental health, and that children raised in two-parent families perform better in school and have more positive developmental outcomes than children from single-parent families (Amato and Booth 1997; McLanahan and Sandefur 1994; Waite and Gallagher2000; Wood et al. 2007). Inspired in part by these potential benefits of marriage, a wide range of programs have been developed to encourage and support healthy marriages (Dion 2005).
In a new brief, Early Childhood Policy Focus: Healthy Eating and Physical Activity, Child Trends reviews recent data and current research on nutrition and exercise habits of young children under the age of six.
by Judith A. Seltzer, Professor, Department of Sociology and California Center for Population Research, UCLA. seltzerj@ucla.edu
I believe that we need new U.S. data to answer the following questions: When do parents and adult children help each other? Why do they help? How do they help? And what difference do intergenerational ties make for individual family members?
by Ingrid Arnet Connidis, Ph.D., the University of Western Ontario
Occasionally a concept comes along that resonates with the research community. A recent example is the idea of ambivalence. Despite some reservations, an impressive array of studies has used ambivalence in creative and thoughtful ways to enhance our understanding of intergenerational relations.
by Marilyn Coleman, Ph.D. and Lawrence Ganong, Ph.D., University of Missouri
Most Americans agree that "adult children should take care of their parents when they get old." But suppose that your parents divorced when you were 10 years old and your mother moved far away. Would that affect how you would feel about helping her? Would that make a difference to you?
by Marie LaHaye, M.S. candidate and graduate research assistant, Project HOME, Family & Developmental Studies Program, Colorado State University
Imagine you have just retired from teaching and are looking forward to retirement and pursuing your own interests. Then, one afternoon, you receive a call from social services that your daughter has been arrested, so her two children are being placed in your care. What will you do?
This morning I write with a heavy heart. Hurricane Irene is swirling in the Atlantic. The projected paths as of 8 am on Friday August 26 predict it will hit most of the eastern seaboard beginning tomorrow. Officials are advising evacuation in some areas and voluntary evacuation in others.
