Human Development and Family Studies | Penn State College of Health and Human Development

Sitting Pretty: A Conversation with Rebekah Taussig

Rebekah Taussig, mom, wife, author, disability advocate, and educator, will discuss her experience as a disabled person and what it would mean for those in disabled bodies if society saw them as “acceptable, equal, valuable parts of the whole.”

Join via Zoom Webinar.

older man holding water bottle and looking at smart watch

Can a Smart Device Help You Improve Your Health?

David E. Conroy, professor of kinesiology, human development and family studies and public health sciences, will present the 2023 Pattishall Research Lecture on Wednesday, March 29 at 3:30 p.m.

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Study finds that experiences of daily stress decrease as people age

New research from David Almeida finds that as people age, the experiences of daily stress decrease, both in the number of daily stressors reported and reactivity to those stressors

Learn more about this research

Students studying in the library socially distanced and wearing masks.

Start your undergraduate journey

Explore this versatile undergraduate degree for anyone who is intrigued by human nature and the forces that help shape it.

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Faculty member, Tim Brick, assists a graduate student during a class.

Learn about graduate training

Discover how research and graduate training in HDFS provides students with the knowledge needed to contribute to the field of human development.

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Student analyzing research on a desktop computer

Explore HDFS research areas

Understand the variety of research areas and current projects that push the boundaries of knowledge in the field.

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Student meeting in the Diversity and Inclusion office.

Engage in HDFS diversity initiatives

Learn how HDFS is encouraging and fostering an environment in which every member of the community can flourish.

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A family sitting with hands stacked on top of each other.

Couples who took Family Foundations classes, a course for couples expecting their first child developed by Mark Feinberg, a Penn State research professor, had more positive family relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Janae Sayler is co-founder and president of the student organization Minorities in the College of the Liberal Arts.

Liberal Arts student empowers diverse communities at Penn State

Self-monitoring physical activity matters, according to smartwatch study

Older man holding a water bottle and checking his smartwatch

Lecture on using smart devices to track health habits, deliver interventions