University of Wisconsin–Madison
For many low-income families, the first call for help doesn’t go to the government — it goes to a relative, a neighbor, or a community organization. A new study by IDS affiliate Denia Garcia of UW-Madison’s La Follette School of Public Affairs suggests that families that have access to these informal supports, or forms of …
National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper 35059 (2026) Authors: Jacob Bastian and Melody Harvey Abstract: Consumer sentiment influences household behavior in important ways, yet we lack causal evidence on whether government policies themselves shape these perceptions. We help fill this gap by studying the expiration of the expanded 2021 Child Tax Credit (CTC), which …
British Journal of Sociology (2026) Authors: Shamus Khan, Max Besbris, Estela Diaz Abstract: Within classical sociological accounts of capitalism, families are curious remnants of the past. Contemporary elite sociology dismisses the family in a different way: by primarily focusing on individual men. When the family does appear within elite studies, scholars frequently follow a stratification framework, …
Journal of Traumatic Stress (2026) Authors: Joonwoo Lee, Sebastian Barr, Alberta M. Gloria, Tonya J. Roberts, Stephanie L. Budge Abstract: Transgender and nonbinary (TNB) individuals experience high rates of relational trauma from parental figures, yet their pathways to healing remain underexplored. This qualitative study used constructivist grounded theory to develop a theoretical framework of how …
Science Advances (2025) Authors: John Robert Warren, Gina Rumore, Soobin Kim, Eric Grodsky, Chandra Muller, Jennifer J. Manly, and Adam M. Brickman Abstract: How are children’s fluoride exposures associated with cognitive test performance in adolescence and midlife? Whereas most prior research has estimated effects of exposure to extremely high levels of fluoride, we consider exposure …
Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences (2025) Authors: Morgan C. Jerald and Elizabete Romanovska Abstract: Girls of color experience disproportionately high rates of sexually transmitted infections, unintended pregnancy, and sexual violence compared to their White peers. Despite these disparities, current sexuality education programs— designed from White, Christian, middle-class, and heterosexual perspectives— largely fail …
Journal of Family Violence (2025) Authors: Kaitlyn M. Sims, Mariel J. Barnes & Kate L. Walsh Abstract: Purpose Domestic Violence Housing First (DVHF) prioritizes removing survivors’ immediate barriers to safe and stable housing via unconditional and flexible financial assistance to reduce exposure to violence, increase stability, and improve physical and mental health. The current study …
Health Affairs Scholar (2025) Authors: Kiley J. McLean, Jamie Koenig, Samara Wolpe, Wei Song, Lauren Bishop Abstract: This study assesses changes in self-reported health and healthcare status among adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) over the past 20 years, utilizing data from the National Health Interview Survey. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 601 464 adults …
LGBTQ+ Family: An Interdisciplinary Journal (2025) Authors: Stephanie L. Budge, Yusuf Barburoğlu, Siyan Gao, Dean Dvorak, Gideon Elliott, Sydney Gilchrist, Savannah Lynn, Eli G. Godwin, Sabra L. Katz-Wise Abstract: Few studies have focused on transgender and nonbinary youths’ (TNBY) gender development and even less well understood is how family members understand TNBY identity. The current study investigated: (a) …
Child Development (2023) Authors: Katherine E. Scott, Tory L. Ash, Bailey Immel, MaKayla A. Liebeck, Patricia G. Devine, Kristin Shutts Abstract: Multiple studies (n = 1065 parents, 625 females, 437 males, 3 nonbinary, 99.06% White; n = 80, 5 to 7-year-old children, 35 girls, 45 boys, 87.50% White; data collection September 2017–January 2021) investigated White U.S. parents’ thinking …