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Filtered by: Child & Elder Care

Colleen Heflin Examines Impact of Changes to Virginia’s Child Care Subsidy Program

The Maxwell professor and fellow researchers are supported by the University of Wisconsin and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

January 15, 2026

Harrington Meyer Discusses What’s Driving the Rise in Grandparent Childcare on WBUR's ‘On Point’

If parents had more guaranteed welfare state program available to them, “it would be easier for them to juggle jobs and children and they might not need to rely on grandparents quite as extensively,” says University Professor Madonna Harrington Meyer.

December 19, 2025

Suicide Deaths Among Informal Caregivers in an Aging Society

Michiko Ueda-Ballmer

The study, authored by Michiko Ueda-Ballmer, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, was published in Public Health.

November 3, 2025

Harrington Meyer Talks to HuffPost About Grandparenting Styles

“It almost doesn’t matter what kind of grandparent you are, as long as you and the parents agree. The trick is for the parents and the grandparents to agree on the roles and the rules,” says University Professor Madonna Harrington Meyer. Once that happens, “then there could be a really harmonious relationship.”

September 19, 2025

Harrington Meyer Talks to The Wall Street Journal About Today's Working Grandmothers

University Professor Madonna Harrington Meyer interviewed 48 working grandmothers; all but four “said they were doing much more care for the grandchildren than they expected—and much more than their own parents did for them,” she says.

August 4, 2025

Social Exchange in Intergenerational Relationships over the Family Life Course: Reciprocity Dynamics

Merril Silverstein, Martin Lakomý, Seonhwa Lee, Bo Jian, Wencheng Zhang, Daphna Gans

Co-authored by Professor of Sociology Merril Silverstein, the article “Social Exchange in Intergenerational Relationships over the Family Life Course: Reciprocity Dynamics in Support to Older Mothers” was published in The Journals of Gerontology.

July 28, 2025

Silverstein Quoted in The Atlantic Article on Great Grandparents

Merril Silverstein, professor and chair of sociology, says that because today’s grandparents are so involved with family life on the whole, both logistically and emotionally, we might expect that great-grandparents will keep becoming more tied in as well.

July 10, 2025

Buzard Discusses Her Research on Parental Involvement With The Atlantic

Research by Kristy Buzard, associate professor of economics, confirms the idea that people tend to assume mothers are the default parent, even when they explicitly ask not to be. Part of the reason, Buzard posits, is “this underlying belief that moms are more available and are going to be more responsive.”

May 29, 2025

Religiosity of Grandchildren and Their Grandparents as a Basis for Norms of Eldercare Responsibility

Merril Silverstein, Seonhwa Lee, Riansimone Orissa Harris, Wencheng Zhang

“Religiosity of Grandchildren and Their Grandparents as a Basis for Norms of Eldercare Responsibility in Emerging Adults,” co-authored by Professor and Chair of Sociology Merril Silverstein, was published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.

April 23, 2025

Harrington Meyer and Silverstein Featured in The Atlantic Article on Grandparenting

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with our grandmothers,” says University Professor Madonna Harrington Meyer. “But I think there’s plenty wrong with our welfare state.”

April 16, 2025

Hamersma Article on Fetal Alcohol Effects Published in Institute for Family Studies Blog

In the U.S., the most common source of developmental disability is fetal alcohol exposure, which can be prevented during pregnancy. Yet supports for individuals with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and their families are few and far between, writes Sarah Hamersma, associate professor of public administration and international affairs.

January 28, 2025

Older Adults’ Descendants and Family Networks in the Context of Global Educational Expansion

Rachel Margolis, Mara Getz Sheftel, Haowei Wang, Raeven Faye Chandler, Lauren Newmyer, Ashton M. Verdery

In this paper, Haowei Wang and co-authors examine the socioeconomic bifurcation of adults in midlife and beyond in terms of the existence of descendants and other kin. Published in Population and Development Review.

November 27, 2024

See related: Aging, Child & Elder Care

NIA Awards $3.8 Million for Maxwell Sociologists’ Health and Longevity Research Networks

Research networks led by Jennifer Karas Montez and Shannon Monnat will use two five-year grant renewals to study adult health and aging trends in the United States.

September 11, 2024

Older Parents’ Perceptions of Children's Filial Piety in Rural China

Wencheng Zhang, Merril Silverstein, Ying Xu

“Older parents’ perceptions of children's filial piety in rural China: The roles of coresidence, geographic proximity, and intergenerational support,” co-authored by Professor and Chair of Sociology Merril Silverstein, was published in the Chinese Journal of Sociology.

August 27, 2024

Silverstein Discusses Elder Care and Stepfamilies in New York Times Article

As parents age, “there’s a lot of negotiation and uncertainties,” says Merril Silverstein, Marjorie Cantor Endowed Professor in Aging. “Who has the right to make decisions for stepparents becomes murky.” Such families can experience what’s called “role ambiguity,” he says, creating doubts about “what the social expectations are.”

August 12, 2024

Kristy Buzard Selected for Minneapolis Federal Reserve Residency

The associate professor will join her research counterparts to advance their study of invisible labor and the mental and economic toll of tasks disproportionately carried out by women.

August 7, 2024

Paid Leave Mandates and Care for Older Parents

Kanika Arora, Douglas A. Wolf

“Paid Leave Mandates and Care for Older Parents,” co-authored by Douglass Wolf, professor emeritus of public administration and international affairs, was published in The Milbank Quarterly.

July 12, 2024

Earnings and Employment Patterns Following Child-Care Subsidy Receipt

W. Clay Fannin, Colleen Heflin, Taryn Morrissey
“Earnings and Employment Patterns Following Child-Care Subsidy Receipt,” co-authored by Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs, and Ph.D. student W. Clay Fannin, was published in Social Service Review.
July 1, 2024

Jun Li Talks to Verywell Health About Uber Caregiver

“Caregivers have long been under-appreciated and poorly integrated into the formal health care system. It might be that we are finally recognizing the value of this ‘invisible’ group,” says Jun Li, assistant professor of public administration and international affairs.

June 1, 2024

Silverstein Edits, Contributes to ‘Aging Families’ Book

Merril Silverstein

Merril Silverstein, Marjorie Cantor Endowed Professor of Aging Studies and chair of sociology, has edited and written the introduction for “Aging Families in Chinese Society” (Routledge, 2022), which was recently released in paperback.

April 15, 2024

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