Research Initiatives

The Center for Family Studies takes and interdisciplinary approach to family issues.
A number of scholars from UCR departments: Anthropology, Education, History,
Psychology, and Sociology research how family members influence each other,
how social and cultural influences affect families, and how these influences may
change not only across culture, but across historical periods.

Faculty and Staff actively explore issues pertaining to the associations between
Southern California's diverse cultures, ethnicity, and family life while at the same
time work to establish collaborative arrangements with other institutions
(i.e. Childhelp USA) to facilitate research and define policy priorities.

Goals

• Increasing the dialogue between academic researchers and others concerned
  with family life within the community.
  
• Providing a forum for the dissemination of advances in knowledge about
  contemporary family (conferences, symposia, workshops, and speaker's series).
  
• Developing a research and policy agenda for family issues.
  
• Involving graduate students in research opportunities.

The Center for Family Studies takes and interdisciplinary approach to family issues.
A number of scholars from UCR departments: Anthropology, Education, History,
Psychology, and Sociology research how family members influence each other, how
social and cultural influences affect families, and how these influences may change
not only across culture, but across historical periods.

Faculty and Staff actively explore issues pertaining to the associations between
Southern California's diverse cultures, ethnicity, and family life while at the same
time work to establish collaborative arrangements with other institutions
(i.e. Childhelp USA) to facilitate research and define policy priorities.

Academic Initiatives

A variety of initiatives have been undertaken by the Center over the last decade
including a speaker series, conferences, and symposia. Several research
projects have also been initiated, including those on topics that are of social
policy importance and benefit from an interdisciplinary analysis. Recent projects
include work on fatherhood, step-families, child abuse, and the effects of
economic downturn on families. These projects are described in more detail
below.

Colloquium Series

In the first years of the Center, the focus was largely on interdisciplinary
dialogue among faculty in order to establish a common ground of mutual
understanding across disciplines. For the first two years, the Center for Ideas
and Society at UCR funded this dialogue. A weekly speaker series was established
during the 1991-1992 academic year and continues to highlight the work of both
members of the Center for Family Studies as well as national and international
speakers. Selected highlights are detailed below.

Ethnic Variations in Families

Raymond Buriel, Department of Psychology
Pomona College
“Developmental challenges in Latino families”

Harry H.L. Kitano, Departments of Social Welfare and Sociology
University of California, Los Angeles
“Asian American interracial marriage”

Vicki Ruiz, Department of Humanities
Claremont Graduate School
“Chicano women: Historical perspectives to the present”

Gloria Romero, Department of Psychology
California State University, Los Angeles
“Sexual decision making among African-American and Latino women with
implications for AIDS”

Jean S. Phinney, Department of Psychology
California State University, Los Angeles
“Parental ethnic socialization of minority adolescents”

James McKenna, Department of Anthropology
Pomona College
“Parents and infants in evolutionary and cultural perspectives”

Patricia Greenfield, Department of Psychology
California State University, Los Angeles
“The transmission of weaving in three generations of Mayan mothers and
daughters: Cultural psychology and historical change in southern Mexico”

Robert Lee Munroe, Department of Anthropology
Pitzer College
“Mothers, fathers, and peers: Cross-cultural studies of children”

Magaly Muguercia
Consejo Nacional de las Artes Escenicas
Havana, Cuba
“Women in Cuba”
(co-sponsored with Department of Anthropology & Department of
Women Studies)

Scott L. Coltrane, Department of Sociology
Eric J. Vega, Department of Sociology
Ross D. Parke, Department of Psychology
University of California, Riverside
“Parental Monitoring in a Neighborhood Context.”

Raquel Royo Prieto
The University of the Basque Country, Spain
"The Division of Domestic Labor from a Gender Perspective"

Economic Downturn and Family Adaptation

Glen H. Elder, Jr. Department of Sociology
University of North Carolina
“Historical and life span perspectives of the effects of economic adversity”

Gerald Patterson
Oregon Social Learning Center
“Family Influences on the development of aggressive behavior:
Theory and recent findings”

Barbara Tinsley, Department of Psychology
Jessica N. Gomel, Department of Psychology
Kathleen Clark, Department of Psychology
University of California, Riverside
“Stresses and coping during times of economic distress: A focus group study”

Tamara Hareven, Department of History
University of Delaware
“The silk weavers of Kyoto: Family strategies in a changing transitional industry”

Chuck Wetherell, Department of History
Scott Coltrane, Department of Sociology
Masako Ishii-Kuntz, Department of Sociology
University of California, Riverside
“Demographic analyses of families of different ethnic backgrounds in
Southern California”

Masako Ishii-Kuntz, Department of Sociology
University of California, Riverside
“Perspectives on Asian American families and job loss”

Mary Gauvain, Department of Psychology
Jessica N. Gomel, Department of Psychology
University of California, Riverside
“Perspectives on Latino families and job loss”

Children, Families, and Communities

Donald J. Hernandez
Population Division, United States Bureau of the Census
“The historical transformation of childhood, children’s statistics and social policy”

Terrence Thornberry, School of Criminal Justice
State University of New York at Albany
“Intergenerational transmission of antisocial behavior”

Kenneth Dodge, Department of Psychology
Vanderbilt University
“Parenting influences on the development of aggressive behavior problems in children”

Emmy Werner, Department of Human Development
University of California, Davis
“The children of Kauai at mid-life: A longitudinal study of risk and resilience”

Ross D. Parke, Department of Psychology
Scott L. Coltrane, Department of Psychology
Sharon Duffy, Graduate School of Education
Eric J. Vega, Department of Sociology
University of California, Riverside
“English Language Learners”

Bob Ream, Graduate School of Education
University of California, Riverside

Barbara H. Fiese, Department of Psychology
Syracuse University
“Routines, Rituals, and Adaptation in Children and Families"