One of the foundational ideas of Human Development and Family Science is that people do not develop in a vacuum – their development is shaped not only by inherited characteristics and predispositions but also directly by the different environments they inhabit and indirectly via forces that act on those environments.

We are often quick to blame parents when children develop problems, and much research on parenting is directed at uncovering the effects of “good” and “bad” parenting on children. However, we must remember that the adults raising children are not exempt from the effects of their own biological and social environments. Especially key to effective parenting is adults’ mental health.

HDFS faculty and students continue to make important contributions to understanding the role of mental health in parenting. Faculty member Xin Feng has long studied the ways in which depressed mothers’ interactions with their children differ from those of non-depressed mothers. And, in an intriguing new study, faculty members Natasha Slesnick and Xin Feng, along with graduate student Brittany Brakenhoff and collaborator Gregory Brigham, examined the role of substance use in mothers’ parenting and found that although all substance using mothers struggled with parenting, alcohol-using mothers demonstrated more negative parenting than opioid-using mothers.

Moreover, recent research by HDFS post-doc Lieny Jeon and faculty members Cynthia Buettner and Tasha Snyder has extended knowledge regarding the important role of adult mental health to teachers. In an article just published in the prestigious Journal of Counsulting and Clinical Psychology, Lieny and her colleagues showed that preschool teachers’ depression is associated with young children’s behavior problems, in part indirectly through the quality of the child care environment. Read the OSU press release here: http://news.osu.edu/news/2014/05/13/preschool-teacher-depression-linked-to-behavioral-problems-in-children/

One of my favorite quotes, attributed to John Bowlby, is: “If a community values its children it must cherish their parents.”

I propose that to this sentiment, we must add: “and their teachers!”

One of the greatest things about our HDFS graduate students is that they are not only productive researchers (which is the focus of our program, after all) but also dedicated teachers and engaged citizens of the University and community. This Spring, the Human Sciences Department recognized two of our graduate students with awards:

Mitchell K. Bartholomew, the Human Sciences Graduate Student Teaching Award, for his innovative, engaging, and effective teaching that incorporates cutting-edge technology.

Sarah N. Lang, the Human Sciences Graduate Student Service Award, for her commitment to the Council of Graduate Students at Ohio State and her active participation in governance and curriculum decision-making at the University level.

From left to right: Mitchell and Sarah (the award winners), me, and two of my other students Tracy and Lauren (future award winners, I’m certain!)

Warmest congratulations to the following graduate students who successfully defended their dissertations this semester:

• Mitchell Bartholomew
• Christin Carotta
• Rachel Eun Hye Hur
• Rongfang Jia

We wish you all the best in your future endeavors!

Welcome to my blog highlighting the accomplishments of faculty and students in the Human Development and Family Science program within the Department of Human Sciences at Ohio State. I invite you to celebrate with me all of the wonderful contributions that members of the HDFS program make to understanding and improving the lives of individuals, families, and communities.