Welcome!
The Family and Child Development Lab (FCD) was established in 2008 at the Pennsylvania State University under the direction of Dr. Alysia Blandon. The research lab is affiliated with the Developmental Program in the Department of Psychology and the Child Study Center.
Our research explores how family subsystems such as marital, coparenting, and sibling relationships, influence the development of children’s self-regulation. We are also interested in the cultural and contextual factors that are linked with children’s social and emotional development.
Our overarching goal is to identify different pathways of development with an emphasis on examining the risk and protective factors that promote prosocial behavior or exacerbate children’s risk for later behavior problems and poor social functioning.