Center for Family Studies

In the 20 years since its founding, the Division of Research has become a world center for research on the interrelationships between family processes and medical and psychiatric illnesses. Its staff were among the first to explore and categorize how families differ in the style and pattern of relationships among family members. These distinctive styles and patterns play a major role in the development of the family, the relationships between the family and its community, the development of psychopathology, and the family's response to treatment.

The Division's work in recent years has focused on two general questions concerning families. First, how do families deal with the challenges of stressful life crises, particularly those that put family members at risk for mental and emotional disorder? Faculty in the Division have studied different types of family crises, including relocation after a natural disaster, the onset of severe and debilitating physical illness, and sudden job loss. Investigators have also been interested in studying how to reduce the risk for emotional disorder in the face of such crises, and have tested family-based interventions designed to help families successfully meet the challenge of these crises.

A second general question concerns the interplay between genes and family environment. Investigators from the Division have conducted one of the first major national studies using behavioral genetics sampling techniques in conjunction with direct observation of family interactions, in order to elucidate complex processes responsible for the development of depression and antisocial behavior in adolescents.

These studies aimed towards the development of family focused, preventive interventions have made our department a leader in the emerging field of preventive psychiatry.