Families
Families play a central role in a person’s life and can serve as an important source of support and security to children and promote their health and well-being. The quality of the relationship between family members is particularly important for achieving these positive outcomes.
It is critical to study how families are formed and the nature and quality of parents’ relationships with partners and their children. Parenting, co-parenting, and romantic relationship dynamics are important aspects of these relationships, and both mothers and fathers play unique roles in the lives of their children.
Child Trends investigates family relationships that influence a child’s development, from birth through their transition to adulthood. We analyze trends in family formation and document patterns and outcomes, aiming to understand how families are formed. We partner with federal, state, and community-based organizations to bridge the divide between family-focused research and practice.
Our briefs, blogs, presentations, trainings, and peer-reviewed publications reach practitioners, researchers, and policymakers. These include:
Families Subtopics
Featured Experts
Deana Around Him
Research Scholar | Indigenous Children, Youth, and Families
Jennifer Manlove
Senior Research Scholar, Sexual and Reproductive Health
Manica F. Ramos
Senior Research Scientist II
Mindy E. Scott
Senior Research Scholar
Alicia Torres
Senior Director of Communication Science
Elizabeth Wildsmith
Research Scholar, Reproductive Health and Family Formation
Andra Wilkinson
Senior Research Scientist
