Recent surveys found LGBTQ+ teens tended to overestimate the level of alcohol consumption by their LGBTQ+ peers. The results shed light on the influence of social norms and misperceptions among sexual minority teens. Learn more about the project in the CYFS Research Network.
As researchers strive to develop and expand affirming prevention and intervention efforts for sexual and gender minority youth, an ongoing project’s preliminary findings are bringing into focus the impacts of dating violence and problem drinking — and the strengths of LGBTQ+ youth.Full Article
Researchers in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota are using two U.S. Department of Justice grants — one from the National Institute of Justice, the other from the Office on Violence Against Women — to examine the impacts of sex trafficking on Native American survivors and communities. Learn more in the CYFS Research Network.
Although Native American women and girls experience disproportionally high rates of sex trafficking, little is known about the impact that sex trafficking has specifically on Native survivors — or what Native survivors need to heal and achieve safety and justice.Full Article
Participants gather during the 2022 CYFS Summit on Research in Early Childhood at the Nebraska Innovation Campus Conference Center on April 13. View photo gallery.
Creating connections among early childhood research, practice and policy — and how each can enhance the lives of young children and their families — provided the central theme of the 2022 CYFS Summit on Research in Early Childhood.
Nearly 200 attendees, including researchers from across the University of Nebraska system, practitioners, administrators, community partners and policymakers, gathered April 13 at Nebraska Innovation Campus for the daylong, sixth biennial summit, which highlighted the latest research to advance early childhood education and development, and implications for practice and policy.Full Article
Researchers are exploring how newcomer immigrant adolescents perceive school climate — and how those perceptions affect their academic and social-emotional outcomes. Learn more in the CYFS Research Network.
Adolescents who have recently immigrated to the United States comprise a large, growing population that faces a variety of academic and social-emotional risk factors.
A healthy school climate — norms, goals, values and relationships within schools, along with teaching and learning practices, and organizational structures — is a key factor in protecting these newcomer immigrant adolescents from risk and promoting their success in school and life.Full Article
Nebraska researchers have developed a toolkit of resources to help Extension professionals cope with the challenges of their work — and seek support — through better understanding of their own well-being. Learn more in the CYFS Research Network.
As frontline caregiving professionals, Nebraska Extension professionals provide vital assistance to communities during the state’s disaster response and recovery efforts, and offer a lifeline for many struggling to cope during times of crisis.
Holly Hatton-Bowers, assistant professor of child, youth and family studies, is the program director of a national project funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and housed at CYFS, focused on supporting the wellness of Extension personnel following natural disasters.Full Article
Researchers and practitioners are collaborating to better understand sex trafficking survivors’ perceptions of services they are receiving — and to learn what services they find most helpful in supporting their recovery. Learn more in the CYFS Research Network.
Katie Edwards, director of the Interpersonal Violence Research Laboratory and associate professor, CYFS and educational psychology, is leading research to better understand how sex trafficking survivors regard the services they receive — and to learn what services they find most helpful.Full Article
Patty Kuo, assistant professor of child, youth and family studies, is leading a pilot project to explore how attachment security to mothers and fathers develops in a baby’s first 18 months — and how those attachment configurations predict outcomes in the child’s first three years. Learn more about this project in the CYFS Research Network.
It may seem obvious, but the emotional bond babies develop with their parents is crucial — not only for their survival, but also to ensure positive outcomes throughout life.
Less-obvious, however, is how this bond — known as attachment — develops.Full Article
Nebraska researchers are part of a multi-institution project to compare the effectiveness of two physical therapy interventions for young children with or at risk for cerebral palsy. Learn more in the CYFS Research Network.
Cerebral palsy is the most common cause of infant-onset physical disability, affecting 17 million worldwide.
Physical therapy is often used to help infants and toddlers in this population strengthen their ability to sit and move, but recent findings emphasize the importance of also offering opportunities to advance children’s cognitive development in addition to motor skills.Full Article