Healthy Family Research
Conducting research to make families stronger.
Welcome to Healthy-Family-Research
Director: Melissa Lippold, Ph.D.
We are a group of researchers dedicated to strengthening families to improve the well-being of adolescents and their parents. Our research has shown that parents remain important during adolescence and young adulthood and that strong parent-child relationships benefit parent and youth mental, physical, and behavioral health. Building on family strengths is an important way to promote well-being and reduce health disparities.
We conduct research in three main areas.
1) Parenting and the prevention of youth substance use, risky behavior, and mental health challenges
2) Family stress and coping and its implications for adolescent and parent mental, physical and behavioral health
3) Influences on parenting
Our work informs the development of programs that can strengthen families and promote adolescent and parent well-being.
Research Areas
Parenting and Prevention
We identify key aspects of parenting and the parent-child relationship that may help prevent adolescent substance use, delinquency, and mental health challenges.
Family Stress and Coping
We study how family stress can affect youth and parent mental and physical health. We also identify how family members can help one another cope with stress.
Influences on Parenting
We discover how parent cognitions and mindfulness, technology, social support, and child behavior influence parenting and parent-child relationships.
Meet the Team
We are fortunate to have great people working with our group. Our team includes graduate students at UNC-Chapel Hill and other collaborating institutions. We also collaborate with a broad range of researchers in social work, human development, psychology, and education.
Get Involved
We are always looking for great people to join our team.
Contact us to learn more about working with us or participating in a research study.
Contact us
Melissa Lippold, Ph.D.
Healthy Family Research
School of Social Work
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
CB #3550
Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599
© Copyright 2022 Melissa Lippold
Healthy Family Research 