Welcome to the Child Development and Family Relationships Laboratory
The Child Development and Family Relationships Laboratory (CDFR) at the University of Michigan focuses on the social and emotional development of infants, toddlers, and young children in the context of family relationships and is directed by Dr. Brenda Volling. CDFR research focuses on any number of aspects of family relationship functioning, but there are two areas that are most prominent in the lab, one is a focus on research on fathering, families, and children’s development and the second is a focus on siblings and particularly the changes in children’s adjustment and family life when a baby sibling is born (The Family Transitions Study).
Recent Publications
The SRCD Monograph presenting the initial findings from the Family Transitions Study examining changes in children’s behavior problems following the birth of an infant sibling:
Volling, B. L., Gonzalez, R., Oh, W., Song, J-H., Yu, T., Rosenberg, L., Kuo, P. X. Thomason, E., Beyers-Carlson, E., Safyer, P., & Stevenson, M. M. (2017). Developmental trajectories of children’s adjustment across the transition to siblinghood: Pre-birth predictors and sibling outcomes at one year. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 82(3), Serial No. 326. https://doi.org/10.1111/mono.12307
The SRCD Monograph resulting from the work of the International Working Group on Advancing Research and Measurement on Fathering and Children’s Development:
Volling, B. L. & Cabrera, N. J. (2019). Advancing research and measurement on fathering and children’s development. Monographs of the Society for Research on Child Development, Vol. 84 (1). https://doi.org/10.1111/mono.12404
Latest News
- Dr. Volling Featured in NY Times
Childhood Without Other Children: A Generation is Raised in Quarantine December 9, 2020 - Sibling Article in NY Times
How to Raise Siblings Who Get Along Feb 20, 2020