Biosocial Foundations of Family Processes

Susan M. McHale, Ph.D., is Director of the Social Science Research Institute and The Children, Youth, and Family Consortium and Professor of Human Development at The Pennsylvania State University. Her research focuses on children's and adolescents' family roles, relationships, and daily experiences and how these family dynamics are linked to youth development and adjustment.
Alan Booth, Ph.D., is Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Demography, and Human Development & Family Studies at The Pennsylvania State University. He has been a senior scientist in Penn State's Population Research Institute since 1991. Dr. Booth has co-organized the university's National Symposium of Family Issues since its inception in 1993. Dr. Booth directed a 20 year study of marital instability in a national sample of 2000 married persons. The project has been the basis for many studies on the causes of divorce, the effects of divorce on children's well-being, remarriage and step families, as well as the effects on psychological distress, educational achievement, romantic relationships and family formation of having a non-resident parent.
Nancy S. Landale, Ph.D., is Liberal Arts Research Professor of Sociology and Demography at The Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Landale's areas of interest include family demography, children's health, immigration and immigrant incorporation, and the Hispanic population. She is widely known for her research on the implications of migration to the U.S. mainland for family processes and maternal/infant health among Puerto Ricans. Her current work focuses on the educational and health outcomes of Mexican children of immigrants.