HDFS In The News

Preschool students hold sneaker drive - Donations go to Nike-Reuse-a-Shoe

A preschooler from the Child Development Labs at UConn came up with an idea to hold a used sneaker drive. The collected shoes will be recycled and reused for things such as tennis courts and playground surfaces. Family and friends of the students and faculty donated used shoes to the drive in three large boxes, which were delivered to the Nike-Reuse-a-Shoe project.

A Swing and a Hit: Students Flock to New Class on Baseball and Society

In just its first few months, the three-credit class taught by family studies professor Steven Wisensale has drawn raves from students for its wide-ranging and challenging lessons on the sport’s history, cultural implications, and influence in areas ranging from race relations to public finance.

Wisensale’s class, “Baseball and Society: Politics, Economics, Race, and Gender,” is offered through the Department of Human Development and Family Studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, where he is a longtime professor, and also cross-listed with Women’s Studies and African-American Studies.

The case against spanking - Physical discipline is slowly declining as some studies reveal lasting harms for children.

A growing body of research has shown that spanking and other forms of physical discipline can pose serious risks to children, but many parents aren’t hearing the message.

Many studies have shown that physical punishment — including spanking, hitting and other means of causing pain — can lead to increased aggression, antisocial behavior, physical injury and mental health problems for children. Americans’ acceptance of physical punishment has declined since the 1960s, yet surveys show that two-thirds of Americans still approve of parents spanking their kids.

Preston Britner, professor of human development and family studies, co-chaired an American Psychological Association committee that proposes extending the APA's opposition to spanking beyond schools and other institutions.

Two faculty in CLAS will join other scientists from around the country as Jefferson Science Fellows

Sara Harkness, professor of human development and family studies, and David Benson, professor and department head of molecular and cell biology, were selected in a competitive process to provide science expertise for policymakers, to help them understand complex scientific issues and how they affect U.S. foreign policy.

Harkness is also a professor of pediatrics and public health at the UConn Health Center and director of the Center for the Study of Culture, Health, and Human Development. Her research focuses on how cultural influences, interacting with genetic predispositions, influence children’s health and learning. Benson is a microbiologist. Both will range beyond their own fields of expertise, however. Jefferson Fellows are chosen for their stature, international recognition, and ability to quickly understand and articulate scientific developments outside their field.

Older Adults Get Cancer Screenings Against Recommendations

Researchers led by Keith Bellizzi, an assistant professor of human development and family studies at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, found that among 1,697 adults between the ages of 75 to 79, 57 percent were screened for colorectal cancer, 62 percent were screened for breast cancer and 56 were screened for prostate cancer. Adults older than 80 were screened less often -- 38 percent of the 2,376 adults in this age group received screening for cervical cancer and 50 percent were screened for breast cancer.

Better Options For Troubled Teens
Social scientists are creating and implementing programs that curb problem behaviors among juvenile offenders.

More than 1 million American youth end up in juvenile court every year, and about 160,000 of them are referred to residential placements, includingdetention centers, residential treatment centers, correctional institutions and group homes, according to a 2011 Social Policy Report by the Society for Research in Child Development.

...The good news is that psychologists and other social scientists are creating diversion programs that address this concern, dramatically improving outcomes such as re-offense rates and family relationships, thus saving the juvenile justice system a great deal of money, says University of Connecticut Professor Preston A. Britner, PhD, the incoming co-chair of APA's Committee on Children, Youth and Families, who also helped the state of Connecticut create and implement an evidence-based diversion program for status-offending kids.

Read the complete article online- American Psychological Association- December 2011, Vol 42, No 11.

U.S. Birthrate Declines for Third Year

The U.S. birthrate fell 3 percent last year, the third straight decline, as the economy faltered and women delayed having children.

“You do see people make choices about family size in tough economic times, and that’s consistent with this data,” Preston Britner, professor of human development and family studies at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, said in a phone interview. “In an economy like this you see people making choices about at least delaying childbirth.”

Read this article online at Bloomberg News, November 18, 2011.

Professor Creates Baseball & Society Class for Spring 2012

Getting Close with Baby

Read more of this article in UConn Today, June 14, 2011.

HDFS Professor Receives AAUP Award

The University of Connecticut Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAPU) and State Senator Tony Guglielmo (R-35) recently attended the 2011 AAUP Excellence Awards in Hartford. The awards promote the faculty's continued commitment to teaching and Scholarship. HDFS Professor Preston Britner recieved the AAUP award for Service Exellence.

To read the article go to www.ctsenaterepublicans.com