Faculty research in the Family Studies Department at UNH is particularly strong in the areas of adolescent development, child advocacy and family policy, child development, and marriage and family therapy.  The department’s outreach programs, including the Child Study and Development Center and the Marriage and Family Therapy Center. are informed by this research and, in each case, model a “best practice” standard.

Family Studies faculty members also participate in research through the UNH Carsey Institute.  The Carsey Institute conducts policy research on vulnerable children, youth, and families, and on sustainable community development, giving policy makers and practitioners the timely, independent resources they need to effect change in their communities.

Here is a list of Family Studies faculty research interests, with links to recent publications:

Adolescence

• Adolescent siblings
• Family relationships in adolescence
• Gender role socialization
• Positive youth development
• Sexuality education
• Women’s and girls’ identity and sexuality issues

Child Advocacy and Family Policy

• Child care facilities and administration
• Institutional molestation
• International family issues
• Remarried and unmarried families
• Rural, low-income families
• Welfare reform and its implications

Child Development

• Children's social and emotional development
• Differential effects of maternal and paternal attachment relationships
• Diversity and equity issues
• Early childhood education and development
• Inquiry-based early education
• Peer conflicts and conflict resolution in preschoolers
• Role of teachers in children’s development of social competence
• Teacher reflective practice
• Young children and technology
• Young children's participation in their community

Marriage and Family

• Active therapy techniques
• Adult psychotherapy from a systemic perspective
• Family therapy training/clinical supervision
• Systemic supervision
• Team consultation
• Couples therapy
• Families of with children with disabilities
• Family treatment for substance abuse
• Family violence
• Gender and cultural issues in family therapy
• Grievous loss and the family
• Home-based counseling
• Narrative approaches
• Same-sex families
• Using educational and therapeutic methods to solve problems