Human Development & Family Studies Events

Now available for archived viewing!  An hour with Dr. Robert Crosnoe, from the Department of Sociology, University of Texas at Austin, followed by questions from the live audience on March 21, 2012 in Madison, WI.  Dr. Crosnoe (the Elsie and Stanley E. (Skinny) Adams, Sr. Centennial Professor in Liberal Arts), spoke on “Schooling, Relationships, and Health in the Transition to Adulthood in the U.S.”

View the webinar or review the presentation.

Dr. Crosnoe’s presentation shared his research regarding many key life course trajectories that are central to the transition from adolescence into adulthood.  These trajectories have been undergoing radical changes in recent decades as a function of shifting economic conditions, institutional structures, and cultural norms.

He shared two important examples generating a great deal of discussion in policy and research arenas, as well as in the general public, concern education and union formation.  First, a mixture of economic restructuring that prioritizes higher education, increased social “preferences” for higher education, and rising costs of higher education has simultaneously raised lifelong returns to college-going, blocked many from entering college, and increased disruptions and interruptions in college pathways.  Second, evolving social norms about the timing of family formation, the transition to adulthood period is less about the movement towards marriage and more about the complex dynamics of the relationship market, including dating, cohabiting, and sexual relationships as well as marriage.

Such heterogeneity in educational and relationship pathways, in turn, results in heterogeneity in the contexts of alcohol use, which has long been one of the major health-related behaviors during this period.  In this way, instability in pathways with lifelong consequences can go along with health risks that reinforce or exacerbate those consequences.

Dr Crosnoe  discussed this potential increase in the long-term stratifying power of the transition to adulthood, presenting published and new evidence from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, and other data sources on the interplay of educational, relationship, and drinking trajectories from adolescence into adulthood.

Now available for archived viewing!  An hour with Dr. Chris Blodgett followed by audience questions.  Chris Blodgett (WSU Spokane) directs the Area Health Education Center which includes a research unit with ongoing research programs at the national and state level addressing child care needs assessment, domestic violence prevention, and child neglect and abuse.  Or review just the slide show:  Blodgett Trauma Presentation

• Read more about Dr. Blodgett’s work as the Area Health Education Center Director here.

Complex trauma describes a response to adverse childhood events, and provides a new framework for understanding exposure and response. Complex trauma occurs early in life, persists over time, and involves multiple factors: domestic violence, caregiver behavioral and health problems, child maltreatment, and community violence. As many as one-third of children in the U.S. are exposed to complex trauma. Importantly, many children survive horrific circumstances and prosper, indicating that trauma exposure does not inevitably result in developmental tragedy. But the scope of complex trauma overwhelms traditional social services. Consequently, identification and intervention strategies in our universal systems are needed to address trauma as a public health crisis. Schools are uniquely positioned as partners because trauma challenges their basic mission to successfully educate children. This presentation describes a model of intervention currently in testing in early learning and K-12 education in the state of Washington