INTER-GENERATIONAL AND MULTI-GENERATIONAL FAMILY SYSTEMS
David Demo: My research focuses on the influences of divorce, family structure, and family relationships on the well-being of children and parents. I am particularly interested in how parent-child and parent-adolescent relationships change during family transitions and how these relationships influence children's and adolescents' development.
Andrea G. Hunter: The major aims of my research are to explore the linkages between the life course, families, and social structure, and to broaden research on African Americans, especially families. I have sought to meet these aims by (a) asking fundamental questions about the family and the interconnected lives of its members, and (b) reframing old questions and expanding interpretations of aspects of black family life, past and present, that have defined the field of black family studies. Specifically, my research focuses on (a) variations in the context, structure, and social organization of families and social networks, and their impact on the roles, behavior, and well-being of family members across the life span; (b) constructions of gender and the ways in which gender affects family roles and life course trajectories; and (c) f amily history, the intersection of the life course and social change, and the social, economic, and cultural transformations affecting African American families over the last century. My approach is interdisciplinary, I draw primarily on life course theory and feminist perspectives, and I use a variety of methodological approaches (quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method) in my research.
Esther Leerkes: I am interested in how childhood experiences with ones own parents influence parenting behavior and beliefs in adulthood. For example, I have examined how a history or having emotional needs met in childhood relates to mothers' own parenting efficacy and postpartum depression. Now, I am examining links between childhood experiences with parents and how mothers think and feel about negative emotions. My goal is to identify the processes underlying these associations by identifying personal and contextual characteristics that mediate or moderate these associations.