"Environmental Impacts on Families: Change, Challenge, and Adaptation."

Families are embedded in larger contexts that have implications for family relationships and well-being. A large body of research by family scholars has documented the impacts of multiple dimensions of the broader social environment−including cultural, economic, and political contexts−on family functioning. Less attention has been paid to how dimensions of the physical environment may affect families, including factors that protect families and promote their resilience in the face of change and challenge. Toward stimulating novel interdisciplinary and translational research on families, the 2021 National Symposium on Family Issues will examine the role of the physical environment in family relationships, behaviors, and well-being, with a focus on three key dimensions: environmental disasters, climate change, and the built environment.

Registration is required. The Symposium is open to everyone.

Co-Sponsored by the Child Study Center

NOTE: The decision to hold an in-person or virtual symposium will be made in September and we will notify registrants. Current Penn State policy states that all individuals are required to wear masks inside all university buildings, regardless of vaccination status.

The symposium will be livestreamed and recorded for viewing. More details to come.