Research Office News

Joyce Lee's (PhD student), study published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence found that when parents listen or use humor to resolve conflicts, their children report fewer emotional and behavior problems. Families from all socioeconomic backgrounds are affected by parental conflict. The rates tend to be higher in low-income households that deal with poverty, stress and unemployment.

Associate Professor Daphne Watkins received the “Thought Leader Award for Peer-Reviewed Publications” at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation New Connections Capstone Symposium last month. Watkins was the recipient of a New Connections Initiative Award in 2007 for her project “Examining the Influence of Psychosocial Factors on the Mental Health of Black Men.” This recent accolade is in recognition of the impact she’s made in her field as well as the quantity and quality of the work she’s produced since receiving her initial award.

Assistant Professor Xiaoling Xiang's new study tracks the behavior of older adults whose needs were not handled properly, leading to elevated anxiety symptoms. “Our findings reinforce the notion that needs for mental health services and community-based long-term services and supports are interconnected,” Xiang said.

Associate Professor Kristin Seefeldt gave the keynote address at the University at Buffalo School of Social Work’s symposium “Poverty is a Human Rights Issue: Social Work and Economic Justice". Her talk focused on poverty and inequality, economic well being and family coping strategies.

Assistant Professor Shanna Kattari and Postdoctoral Research Fellow Ashley Lacombe-Duncan talk about their studies on transgender experiences with health professionals on Michigan Minds. They discuss their goal of creating easily accessible information for healthcare providers to help better care for transgender patients.

Professor William Elliott’s research on child savings accounts is featured in the San Francisco Chronicle. “Children with a bank account designated for college, with $500 or less, were three to four times more likely to go to college than those without an account”, Elliott said.

Brian Perron presented, "Innovating administrative research through data science: Lessons learned from the U-M SSW Data Lab” at Tsinghua University in China. He also gave a workshop on "Writing and Publication Strategies in Social Work" hosted by the Tianjin University of Technology.

Professor William Elliott’s essay, “ Leveraging Free College and Children’s Savings Accounts for a 21st Century Wealth Building Agenda” was published in the College Promise Campaign Policy Brief.