COE Researcher Involved with New Center for Research on Hispanic Children and Families

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COLLEGE PARK, MD (November, 2013) – Dr. Natasha Cabrera of the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology will have a leading role in research with the Center for Research on Hispanic Children and Families that will be based at Child Trends, a non-profit devoted to improving the lives and prospects of children

Dr. Cabrera has deeply explored the role of fathers in Latino families, as well as links between parenting behaviors and children’s social and cognitive development. Her research background uniquely positions her to contribute to the Center’s inquiries about marriage and fatherhood, and she will co-lead research in this area with Dr. Mindy Scott, a senior research scientist in parenting and family dynamics at Child Trends.

The Center will investigate the needs of Hispanic populations served by the Administration for Children and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and it will seek out promising approaches to promote social and economic well-being among low-income Hispanic families. The Center will act as a hub for conducting, translating, and providing research-based information in three prioritized research areas: poverty reduction and self-sufficiency; healthy marriage and responsible fatherhood; and early care and education.

A cooperative venture between Child Trends and the University of Maryland College Park, New York University, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and Abt Associates, the Center has been awarded a five-year, $5.2 million contract by the Department of Health and Human Services for its establishment.

Dr. Natasha Cabrera is an associate professor in the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology. Her current research topics include: father-child and mother-child relationships, predictors of adaptive and maladaptive parenting, children's social and emotional development in different types of families and cultural /ethnic groups, and, the mechanisms that link early experience to children’s later cognitive and social development.

Click here to learn more about Child Trends.

 

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