Family Social Science grant program to support research into coronavirus pandemic impact on families
Jodi Dworkin, interim department head, professor, and extension specialist, today announced two more Family Social Science research grants to faculty and student teams studying the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on individuals and families. The first was announced April 24 (see link to story below).
Cathy Solheim, professor and director of graduate studies, leads a team that includes FSoS graduate students Lekie Dwanyen, Nusroon Fatiha, Gretchen Buchanan, and Zamzam Dini as well as Jaime Ballard, FSOS graduate alumna and research associate. They plan to launch a study to identify and assess relational and financial stressors and coping strategies among immigrant families during the COVID pandemic.
“The COVID-19 pandemic may have induced or heightened immigrant families’ relational and economic stressors due to their limited resources and high demands,” says Dr. Solheim. “However, these vulnerable families tend to be invisible in the discourse surrounding the current pandemic. Ignoring their needs could have long-term consequences for the United States as over half (56 percent) of all immigrants work in industries that are vital to the U.S. economy, such as food services, health care, social assistance, and manufacturing.”
The team will partner with 13 community-based agencies and conduct interviews with staff to assess and document how immigrant and refugee families are coping with rapidly changing circumstances and increased stress. They plan to fast-track a report to share with community agencies and both the Minneapolis and St. Paul City Offices of Immigrant Affairs in order to assist city governments in prioritizing policy and program targets.
Emerging adults and pandemic to be studied
Joyce Serido, associate professor and extension specialist.
Joyce Serido, associate professor and extension specialist, and Lijun Li, FSOS graduate student, will collaborate to study emerging adults in six countries to ascertain how they are handling the social and economic upheaval due to COVID-19.
Dr. Serido and Li will be joined by researchers at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan; Mykolas Romeris University, Lithuania; University of Ljubljana, Slovenia; and the University of Coimbra, Portugal.
“The global pandemic hit emerging adults – 18 to 30 years of age – especially hard because this group is still trying to recover economically from the 2008 recession,” said Dr. Serido. “Entering their 30s, many emerging adults still rely on parents for both emotional and financial support.”
Serido is among a national group of researchers that has been conducting a longitudinal study of young people since 2007. The Life Success Research project (APLUS) has followed the same group of young adults from their first year in college through adulthood to understand how young adults develop financial capability and how that impacts their quality of life and relationships.
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Another research team will collaborate with colleagues in Hong Kong to conduct research into the pandemic’s impact on families and mental health. Read the full story.