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Undergraduate
- Major in Human Development and Family Studies
- Associate Degree in Human Development and Family Studies
- Minor in Human Development and Family Studies
- Honors Study in Human Development and Family Studies
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Research
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Research Expertise
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Cross Cutting Themes of Research
- Adolescence and Young Adulthood
- Child Maltreatment
- Cognitive Health
- Computational Methods for Developmental Systems Models
- Determinants and Promotion of Well-Being
- Development and Family Processes in International Contexts
- Developmental Neuroscience
- Family Systems and Processes
- Gender and Development
- Health and Family Processes
- Healthy Aging
- Influences of Stress on Development and Aging
- Longitudinal Methodologies/Designs for Studying Change and Variability
- Parenting, Parent-Child Relations, and Child Outcomes
- Socio-Cultural and Economic Diversity
- Substance Use
- Work and Family
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Research Labs and Initiatives
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- Methodology Consulting Center
- Quantitative Developmental Systems
- Study of Healthy Aging and Applied Research Programs
- Child Brain Development Lab
- Infant and Child Temperament Lab
- PA Twin Registry
- Project SIESTA
- Family Relationships Project
- Daily Stress and Health Study
- University Life Study
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Determinants and Promotion of Well-Being
Studying the determinants of well-being is pronounced in the research program of several HDFS faculty. We examine the effects of close relationships on well-being in midlife and older adulthood, as well as the influence of family processes that contribute to adolescents’ happiness and life satisfaction. Other projects focus on the promotion of well-being through evaluating school-based prevention programs and by exploring how teaching practices and intervention efforts modify peer experiences in ways that support better individual adjustment. Faculty in this area is also interested in how stress can influence cognitive functioning and how to develop efficient interventions to maintain healthy aging. Methodological issues related to studying and promoting well-being are also emphasized, including optimizing and evaluating behavioral interventions and modeling of changes in well-being over time in a dynamical systems framework.
HDFS faculty who study Determinants and Promotion of Well-Being include: