Family & Child development Lab
The Family & Child Development studies family, peer, and romantic relationships and their impact on child development, including emotional and behavioral health problems. Specific topics of interest include but are not limited to sleep, stress responses, personality, emotion regulation, problem drinking, and substance use. Our team is led by Dr. Peggy Keller and is comprised of graduate and undergraduate student researchers at the University of Kentucky. Ultimately, the lab seeks to understand the underlying mechanisms that contribute to child development and familial factors that can mitigate or exacerbate risk for developmental problems.
Coming Soon
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Sibling Daily Diary Study
Examines day-to-day sibling relationship dynamics and their associations with youth mental health through reports of sibling interactions, conflict, and depressive and anxiety symptoms over a seven-day period.
Navigating College Using Substitute Objects
Explores attachment behavior in college students through reports of relationships, use of objects as a substitute for attachment figures, and mental health and well-being.
IPV and Parental Substance Use in American Samoa
This project examines childhood exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) by identifying its forms, frequency, and consequences, as well as assessing children’s involvement and reactions. It also evaluates the links between parental alcohol and drug use and IPV, and examines how police and other authorities respond to these situations, with particular attention to the quality and effectiveness of the support provided. This research will recruit from American Samoa and will serve to better understand understudied U.S. populations.
Parental Drinking Behaviors and Sibling Dynamics
Examines how parent alcohol use is associated with family and sibling relationships and children’s emotional and behavioral well-being. The study explores whether sibling relationships may serve as pathways linking parent alcohol use to child outcomes.
