Welcome to the USC Family Studies Project!

For over 20 years the USC Family Studies Project has been conducting research under the direction of Dr. Gayla Margolin, Professor of Psychology at USC. This project resides in the Psychology Department at USC and has been funded by the Eunice National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute of Mental Health, the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
 
The mission of the USC Family Studies Project is to conduct state-of-the art research on social developmental process from adolescence through young adulthood. Our long-range goal of this research is to inform prevention and intervention efforts, as well as address legislative and social policy concerns. This research is founded on several premises:

• That families comprise interconnected units such that what happens in one part of the family affects other parts.

• That our understanding of risk factors can be informed through continuities and discontinuities in development.

• That the study of families requires rigorous and valid methods for assessing family processes over time.