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Faculty and Graduate Students in this research concentration are concerned with investigation into the processes that promote health and well-being at the individual, familial, community, and societal levels. Working within a Human Development and Family Studies framework, researchers examine these processes across the life span and in interaction with socio-economic, community, cultural, environmental, and institutional systems. Adopting the World Health Organization’s definition of health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity,” HDFS faculty use multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches as well as a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods to better understand the social and psychological contexts of health and well-being.
Research projects in this area encompass basic, applied and policy-oriented research. Some of the numerous topics actively being studied in our department include: prevention and intervention activities in various contexts and across the life span; strategies for coping with chronic illness and disabilities; children’s conduct and mood disorders; youth development; risk, resilience, & interventions for at-risk youth and families; postpartum depression; cancer survivorship and personal development; and family law and policy. Graduate students in HDFS are offered opportunities to be involved at all levels of research via investigator-initiated, externally-funded grants as well as through government-funded contracts. Research practical experiences in health and policy settings are encouraged as students progress through their doctoral experience.
More information and a view of the complete range of health and well-being research activities can be obtained by exploring the work of our individual faculty members.
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University of Connecticut |
