Interventions to Improve Parenting and Child Wellbeing Across Generations
Official title: Intervention Impacts on Child Wellbeing and Parenting across Generations
Funded at Duke University · NIH-11394027 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A family-based program tests whether helping parents in one generation and their children can lead to healthier parenting and better adjustment for the next generation.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Duke University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Durham, United States) |
| Project start | September 20, 2017 |
| Project end | June 30, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $985,867 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HD093651-08 |
| Project ID | NIH-11394027 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Families with children and adolescents who may be at risk due to factors like harsh parenting, violence in the home, and related psychosocial stressors.
✕Less likely to help
Families not experiencing intergenerational risk factors or who do not engage with parenting interventions may see limited benefit.
What this research studies
This project follows families over time to see if two different programs for parents and their children can break patterns of chaotic homes and harsh parenting. It builds on a long-running study in North Carolina, including a natural experiment that occurred after a casino income supplement was provided to a specific community. By measuring parenting behaviors, child well-being, and offspring outcomes, researchers will examine if helping today’s parents can improve the well-being of their children and grandchildren. The study involves data from multiple generations and leverages a historically rich cohort to understand cross-generational effects of interventions.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could inform parenting programs that reduce aggression and improve family environments across generations.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research has shown some positive effects of family interventions, but intergenerational cross-over effects are less well established and this study aims to provide stronger evidence.
Where this research is happening
-
Duke University
Durham, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lansford, Jennifer E — Duke University
- Study coordinator: Lansford, Jennifer E
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Helping families break cycles of stress and improve parenting across generations
Looks at whether helping parents now leads to better parenting by their children later and healthier outcomes for grandchildren.
-
Center for Work, Health and Wellbeing at Harvard
A national-scale program at Harvard investigates how work environments affect people’s health and safety, with aims to make workplaces healthier for workers.
-
Enhancing Parenting Support in Peer Recovery Programs
Aimed at helping parents who are recovering from substance use improve parenting with tailored training and ongoing support.
-
Parental Incarceration and Child Health: A Long-Term View
This project studies how having a parent in the criminal justice system affects a child’s health and wellbeing from birth through young adulthood.
-
Longitudinal health and aging study in Kenya
A large, long-term study in Kenya will track health, well-being, economics, and aging in adults 45 and older to understand rising aging needs and risk factors for dementia.
-
Sensory aging and dementia research network to speed care and policy
A five-year program at Johns Hopkins will strengthen an international research network to better understand how senses, aging, and late-life wellbeing relate to Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, with the aim of turning findings into practical care and policy improvements.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.