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University of Nebraska at Lincoln - Department of Psychology
Family Development Project
ABOUT US
The Family Development Project, led by Dr. Rebecca Brock, is intended to enhance our understanding of the health and development of families. Multiple methods such as questionnaires, behavioral assessments, and clinical interviews are used to assess various qualities of family relationships and the health of family members. The research conducted in this lab informs the development of interventions aimed at preventing and treating family dysfunction.
PRIMARY RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
How do couple relationships influence health and well-being during adulthood?
Research shows that discord and conflict in intimate adult relationships can put us at risk for greater anxiety, depression, and other problems. In fact, couple interventions to lessen conflict and build more productive communication skills are useful methods of treating depression.
A primary objective of the Family Development Project is to examine multiple aspects of intimate relationships to explain how to best promote health and well-being during adulthood. We look at relationship qualities such as support, intimacy, sexuality/sensuality, respect, conflict/conflict management, etc.
We conduct in-depth investigations of relationship qualities and identify specific behaviors that contribute to a range of health outcomes. Further, we examine how various aspects of intimate relationships minimize negative effects of well-established risk factors for poor health such as major life stressors or traumas and daily life strains.
How do families lead children to flourish or falter throughout their development?
During childhood, most of us rely on our families to nurture and care for us so that we can reach our full potential. Research demonstrates that a warm, secure parent-child relationship, devoid of controlling and adversarial behaviors, is optimal for child development. Families, though, are complex and dynamic systems. Thus, focusing exclusively on parent-child relationships limits our understanding of how families ultimately influence child development.
The relationship between parents is considered the regulator of the family unit, impacting all other aspects of the family (e.g., parent-child relationships). For this reason, a primary objective of the Family Development Project is to explain how the interparental relationship ultimately contributes to healthy psychosocial development in children.
By gaining a better understanding of the impact that both interparental and parent-child relationships have on child development, we hope to reveal new treatment targets and priorities (e.g., promoting greater support, intimacy, and respect in interparental relationships; teaching skills for better parenting and co-parenting) for interventions aimed at promoting healthy child development.