Family Involvement Laboratory

The Family Involvement Laboratory at the University of Maryland explores ways that low-income, minority mothers and fathers are involved in their young children's lives, and the influence that parents have on their children's development. The Research Group's aim is to gather rigorous data on the links between the quality of the relationship that parents have with each other, their caregiving and teaching behaviors with their children, and young children's cognitive and social development and to disseminate this information to families, policy makers, and other researchers in order to encourage positive family involvement and child development.

The Family Involvement Laboratory is directed by Natasha Cabrera, Ph.D., Professor in the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology and affiliate of the Maryland Population Research Center. Dr. Cabrera's research interests include father involvement and child development, immigrant families, poverty/welfare and the intersection of research and policy. Current research conducted by Dr. Cabrera and her students examines the child-rearing experiences and life histories of a diverse sample of mothers and fathers and their impact on children's developmental trajectories as well as the impact that parent involvement has on children's school experience.