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Filtered by: Parenting & Family

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

Birthplace, Perinatal Loss, and the Parity—Post-Reproductive Mortality Relationship

Cheryl Elman, Andrew S. London, Angela M. O'Rand

The study, co-authored by Professor of Sociology Andrew London, was published in Social Science & Medicine.

December 10, 2025

Gadarian Weighs In on Trump’s Declining Approval Rating Among Parents in Newsweek Article

“The six week long shutdown had to do with all of these issues about healthcare, SNAP funding, the general cost of living, things that really affect American families and it was very clear that the administration was not particularly responsive to the issues that they even ran on in 2024,” says Shana Gadarian, professor of political science.
December 2, 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

Sociologist’s Article Recognized by the Association for the Sociology of Religion

Merril Silverstein, professor and chair of sociology, has been awarded the Sociology of Religion Distinguished Article Award for 2024 for his co-authored article, "Did Gender Egalitarianism Weaken Religiosity in Baby Boom Women? A Developmental-Historical Approach" (Sociology of Religion, 2023). 

July 30, 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

Lopoo Article on Trump Plan to Create Pronatalist Policies Published in Wall Street Journal

“Officials are soliciting advice from experts on pronatalist options. Some involve subsidies for births. This would be a mistake. The better idea is to make in vitro fertilization affordable and accessible,” says Leonard Lopoo, associate dean, chair and professor of public administration and international affairs.

May 5, 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

Addressing the Triple Trauma of Factors Leading to Perinatal Health and Mental Health Consequences

Robert H. Keefe, Robert A. Rubinstein, Kiara Van Brackle, Sanid Music, Zikora Nnam, Sandra D. Lane

“Addressing the Triple Trauma of Factors Leading to Perinatal Health and Mental Health Consequences in Two Upstate New York Communities,” co-authored by Maxwell anthropologists Robert Rubinstein and Sandra Lane, along with Ph.D. student Kiara Van Brackle, was published in Behavioral Sciences.

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

Gender and Social Class Dynamics in Intergenerational Financial Transfers Among Older Adults

Isabelle von Saenger, Lena Dahlberg, Merril Silverstein, Johan Fritzell, Carin Lennartsson

“Gender and Social Class Dynamics in Intergenerational Financial Transfers Among Older Adults: National Trends Over Two Decades in Sweden,” co-authored by Professor and Chair of Sociology Merril Silverstein, was published in Ageing & Society.

March 6, 2025

Mothering in the Time of Coronavirus

Amy Lutz, Sujung (Crystal) Lee, Baurzhan Bokayev

Amy Lutz, associate professor of sociology, and co-authors, two Maxwell alumni, focus on remote and essential workers in Central New York, exploring the evolving demands on mothers as well as public policies that may have hindered their ability to balance work and caregiving. Published by University of Massachusetts Press.

January 28, 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

Sibling and Parental Military Service and Suicidality Among Adolescents in the United States

Andrew S. London, Kevin M. Antshel

Professor of Sociology Andrew London and his co-author examine whether having a sibling and/or a parent on active duty in the military is associated with suicidality among 12- to 17-year-old adolescent girls and boys in the United States. Published in Military Medicine.

January 27, 2025

Intergenerational Relationships and Family Support: Implications for Health and Wellbeing

Merril Silverstein, Karen L Fingerman, J Jill Suitor

In this review, Professor and Chair of Sociology Merril Silverstein and co-authors summarize research projects supported by the National Institute on Aging that have contributed scholarship on intergenerational relationships and support provided to older adults that frequently precedes, and is often complementary to, intensive caregiving. Published in The Gerontologist.

January 13, 2025

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