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Family Transitions Project
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The Family Transitions Project (FTP) is a longitudinal
study of more than 550 original targets, their families of origin, and their
families of procreation. The FTP represents an
extension of two earlier studies: the Iowa Youth and Families Project (IYFP) and
the Iowa Single Parent Project (ISPP).
The IYFP began in response to the farm crisis that affected
rural areas in the Midwest, particularly Iowa, in the 1980s. In 1989, IYFP
recruited 451 families from rural counties in central Iowa, including a target
seventh grade child, his or her two biological parents, and a sibling within
four years of the target child's age. The purpose of the study was to assess the
processes involved in the transition from childhood to adolescence, as well as
to understand the broader socioeconomic stress created by economic hardship in
the family of origin. Data were gathered through telephone interviews and
in-home visits from multiple informants including each of the family members
participating in the study, trained observers who studied videotapes of family
discussions and interactions in the homes, and teachers of the target children.
The ISPP began in 1991 as a study
of 210 adolescents, their mothers and a close-aged sibling. The mothers in this
study had experienced divorce within the two years prior to the
beginning of the study.
Most of the measures used in the ISPP were identical to the IYFP measure, and
108 of the adolescents were the same age as the target IYFP adolescents.
In 1994, the families from IYFP and SPP were
combined to form the Family Transitions Project, creating a group of 559
adolescents, all of whom were in the twelfth grade. Beginning in 1995, the study focus shifted from the
family in which the youths were raised to the emerging families and
relationships they were creating, including spouses, romantic partners, and, by
1997, children of the targets. In 2006, children of the targets ranged in age
from 18 months to 16 years old. Age thirteen is the year that the target parent
joined the study. Targets and their families are contacted
each year, and nearly 90 percent of the original targets continue to participate
in yearly assessments.
Currently, the project is funded by three federal grants
totaling nearly $10 million.
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National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Economic Stress and Child Development Across Three Generations (Rand Conger,
Principal Investigator)
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National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Relationship Development and Health in Young Adults (Fred Lorenz, Principal
Investigator)
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National Institute of Mental Health. Critical
Transitions in Rural Families at Risk (Rand Conger, Principal Investigator)
Research Team:
Rand Conger,
University of California-Davis, Principal Investigator and Project Director
Fred Lorenz,
Iowa State University, Principal Investigator
Katherine Conger,
University of California-Davis, Principal Investigator
K.A.S. Wickrama,
Iowa State University, Investigator
Tricia Neppl,
Institute for Social and Behavioral Research, Investigator and Associate
Project Director
Sarah Spilman,
Institute for Social and Behavioral Research, Assistant Scientist
Debra Bahr,
Institute for Social and Behavioral Research, Project Manager
Betty
Davis, Institute for Social and Behavioral Research, Project Secretary
Affiliated Scholars
Ming Cui, Florida
State University
Brent Donnellan,
Michigan State University
Katherine Masyn,
University of California-Davis
Monica
Martin, University of California-Davis
Janet Melby,
Institute for Social and Behavioral Research
Lenna
Ontai, University of California-Davis
Keith Widaman,
University of California-Davis
Laura Scaramella, University of
New Orleans
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