Members in the News

The COVID-19 winter surge has impacted different age groups in different ways, as caretakers struggle to take care of the elderly during this pandemic and parents remain wary of their children returning to in-person classes.

According to Donna Benton, Research Professor of Gerontology at USC, caretakers of aging Californians, including family members, have also been impacted.

“The majority of care, elder care in our state, is done by family members,” she said. “We are an essential part of the healthcare system.”

Vaccines and boosters are essential tools for Black family caregivers, as California battles the rising numbers of Covid-19 infections due to the spread of the Omicron variant. 

Family caregivers have not been considered essential workers, and therefore we're ineligible to be first in line when Covid vaccines appeared on the scene in early 2021, said Dr. Donna Benton, Research Associate Professor of Gerontology at the University of Southern California's Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. 

Caregivers, during the duration of the pandemic, were not classified as essential workers putting them at a disadvantage. According to Dr. Donna Benton, the hardest part for caregivers was the lack of resources. Limited accessibility to wipes, medical supplies, cleaning supplies, masks, vaccines put caregivers in a tough spot as they took care of immunocompromised patients. Caregivers must take care of not just the patients, but their households as well. Anyone could be considered a caregiver — a teen as young as 14 years of age to a senior in their 70s.

"Depression is often an underdiagnosed and undertreated health outcome among people of color, and air pollution is a potentially modifiable exposure in contrast to individual risk factors," said lead author Tracy Bastain, Ph.D., MPH, an environmental epidemiologist and associate professor of clinical population and public health sciences at Keck School of Medicine of USC. "This study underscores the need to better understand the impact of environmental risk factors during critical periods of exposure."

New studies show that men's hormone levels and brains change when they look after their infants, helping them be more responsive as caregivers.

Dr Darby Saxbe is a professor of psychology at the University of Southern California and a pioneering researcher in this field.

“Studies now show that men’s hormones levels change as a result of looking after their infant and that there are brain changes,” she says. “The transition to parenting and bonding with their child is literally imprinted on men’s bodies.”

The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities awarded USC and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles a $24.5 million grant last month to establish a center focusing on health disparities in the Southern California Latinx community.

Michael Goran, professor of pediatrics at USC Keck School of Medicine, said one of the center’s projects he founded was to better understand dietary issues and nutrition intervention required in the Latinx population. The center will address disparities in obesity, Type 2 diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and dyslipidemia in Southern California Latinx families, who represent almost half of the area’s population.

More than 53 million Americans caring for older loved ones can listen on demand to news, solutions, expert advice, celebrity interviews and more as national caregiving influencer, author and corporate gerontologist, Sherri Snelling, launches the "Caregiving Club On Air" podcast today. CCF's Donna Benton will be one of the initial guests on the podcast.

USC, in partnership with Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, has won a $24.5 million NIH grant to launch a center aimed at fighting obesity and related chronic diseases in Latino children and families across Southern California.

This new regional center will establish a consortium across 10 counties, home to nearly 11 million Latinos who represent 45.2% of the population. The consortium brings together universities, hospitals and community groups; the goal is to develop and test culturally sensitive, family-based interventions to the complex stew of early-life nutrition, environment and social factors that set kids up for risk of obesity and obesity-related chronic diseases for the rest of their lives.

In the month Mage spent taking care of her father, she never considered it “caregiving” until she decided to return to school and looked into gerontology programs with a focus on older care. Mage read books to better understand gerontology as “the next thing in our society that is in need of a revolution,” reached out to USC professors in the gerontology program and applied to USC.

Starting her doctoral journey in 2019, Mage moved to Los Angeles and began working under Kate Wilber in the secure old age lab at the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. She connected with Donna Benton, the director of the USC Family Caregiver Support Center, and became involved with the center, which allowed her to connect with other young caregivers who shared similar experiences.

Drinks that contain the artificial sweetener sucralose may increase food cravings and appetite in woman and people who are obese, according to a new study led by researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

Just published in JAMA Network Open, the study is one of the largest to-date to examine the effects of an artificial sweetener, also called a nonnutritive sweetener (NNS), on brain activity and appetite responses in different segments of the population.

Consuming sucrose, the more “natural form of sugar,” may be as bad for your health as consuming high fructose corn syrup, according to a University of California, Davis, study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. Consuming sucrose and high fructose corn-sweetened beverages increases liver fat and decreases insulin sensitivity. Decreased insulin sensitivity is a risk factor for Type 2 diabetes. The study found significant changes in liver fat and insulin sensitivity seen in just two weeks of consuming sugary beverages.

Dorian Traube, whose research focuses on using technological solutions to provide early childhood health, education and parent support services, said it’s critical to seek help right away for kids who are grappling with mental health challenges.

There is increasing evidence that school closures have had adverse impacts on the education and socioemotional well-being of children, particularly in low-income minority communities, according to a new report published by the USC Center for the Changing Family.

“We expected to see food insecurity and income and job stability to be the biggest challenges in this community,” Datar said. “We were pleasantly surprised to see that they were not big hardships, likely due to the federal and local safety net programs. Instead, children’s education was the biggest hardship for these families.”

Dr Darby Saxbe, Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Southern California, researches how becoming a parent affects people.

But when COVID-19 hit, Dr Saxbe's regular research stopped and she quickly turned to studying how the pandemic was affecting expectant parents.

She followed over 600 expectant mothers in the US throughout 2020, checking in with them every few months.

"We look at their hormones, we look at their brains, and we follow them across the transition to parenthood," she said.

Dr Saxbe's research found that expectant mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic had elevated levels of psychological distress, perceived stress, loneliness, and other behavioural changes.

She also found twice as much depression and twice as much anxiety in mothers who were pregnant during the pandemic, compared to pre-pandemic mothers.

In fact, about half of the mothers were clinically depressed, which Dr Saxbe said was "pretty striking".

"We know depression in pregnancy can be risky for mum's ability to take care of herself and her risk for future mood disorders down the road," she said.

The explosive lawsuit against Activision Blizzard, one of the world’s biggest video game companies, is notable not only for its alleged abuses — ranging from sexual harassment to discriminatory compensation and hiring practices — but for its plaintiff. Unlike like most civil lawsuits, the July 20 filing against the publisher headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif., was not bought by private individuals, but by a California state level agency, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing. Historically, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) has been highly selective in pursuing its own lawsuits.

“The DFEH would want to take on cases to set precedents, against particularly bad actors, if there are lot of complaints about the same employer, or to send a wake up call to the industry," said Clare Pastore, a law professor at USC Gould School of Law and member of the California Advisory Committee to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. "They certainly don’t want to bring questionable cases and don’t want to spend resources on borderline cases. I would not expect this case to be thrown out early.”

Emily Smith-Greenaway, associate professor of Sociology & Spatial Sciences at the University of Southern California, called the new CDC figures “astounding.”

“These numbers demonstrate how the mortality shock of the pandemic is directly affecting tens of thousands of children. These are really intimately experienced losses that will certainly have consequences for children's wellbeing going forward,” Smith-Greenaway said.

"Our study suggests that prenatal neural activation in theory of mind regions does seem to be related to a postpartum father's self-reported endorsement of an intuitive parenting style," said Sofia Cardenas, a psychology Ph.D. student at USC Dornsife and lead author of the study.

We still don't fully understand how mens' brains prepare to become parents, Darby Saxbe, associate professor of psychology and the corresponding author of the study, told USC. This study might help reframe the idea that mothers can connect with their newborns in ways fathers can't.

"There's really promising research suggesting that empathy can actually be trained and taught," Saxbe said.

Dr. Christine Beckman is a guest in this podcast dicussing how the pandemic has pushed working mothers out of the labor force. Many have not returned to work because they’ve taken on childcare responsibilities. How has the pandemic changed the labor market?

The pandemic shutdowns had a disproportionate impact on working mothers, experts say. Christine Beckman, professor of public policy at the University of Southern California, refers to the “scaffolding” that’s required to raise children: support from grandparents and friends, afterschool programs and sports, day care, and school. When the pandemic hit, “All that infrastructure, I mean, it literally disappeared overnight,” she said.

Beckman had hoped that COVID-19 would shine a spotlight on the gender imbalance of child care in the home. “It didn’t,” she said. “The data really showed that women were still working twice as much as the men were at home.

A preliminary study finds that expectant fathers with higher levels of oxytocin and brain activation later endorse a more “baby-led,” empathetic parenting style.

"Contemporary mothers feel a lot of guilt about sending kids to preschool, daycare or having nannies. This is despite the fact that these are much more normative arrangements, historically speaking, than being with a child 24/7," said Darby Saxbe, associate professor of psychology and director of the Center for the Changing Family at the University of Southern California.

Saxbe said caring without support often leads to burnout for parents, which, in turn, can lead to negative outcomes for the whole family.

"We are a social species living in an isolated, distanced society, which has been compounded by the pandemic," Saxbe said. "This leads to heightened rates of maternal depression and anxiety, postpartum depression, and anxiety and depression among children."

Boundary setting, especially for families, is the most “immense level of strain,” said Dorian Traube, a professor of social work at the University of Southern California.

“That is one of the trickiest relationship landmines a person can navigate,” Traube said.

You’re pulling against the magnetic field of the typical family dynamic. “Most families try to chip away at other people’s boundaries,” Traube said. “And so you’re fighting a force that has kind of been indoctrinated.”

“‘I’m not gonna see you if you’re not vaccinated. You’re not around my children if you’re not vaccinated.’ That is such atypical behavior for most families that they honestly don’t know what to do with it.”

When Darby Saxbe came across the Faculty-Led Initiatives Program at the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences in Spring 2019, she saw it as an opportunity to create the USC Center for the Changing Family, an interdisciplinary group of faculty and students who study the correlations between family, relationships and health — both physical and mental. Founded shortly before the coronavirus pandemic hit, the center’s work as a research hub outputs studies and findings on the modern family, especially as family life became more prominent in light of the pandemic.

Sugarproof came about after decades of research by Dr. Michael Goran, Ph.D, a professor of pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, and Dr. Emily Ventura, Ph.D, a nutrition expert and cook. Their goal: empowering parents to cut back radically on both the obvious sugar sources and the hidden sugars present in their family’s everyday meals.

“Just over 10 years ago, we started to see a pretty clear pattern in our research related to sugar consumption and its effects in children,” Dr. Goran tells Parentology. “Originally we weren’t necessarily looking specifically at sugar, just at diet in general and trying to identify patterns of relationships between risks and sugar just kept popping up.”

Dr. Michael Goran is Professor of Pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles and co-director of the USC Diabetes and Obesity Research Institute.

Dr. Goran says sugar activates the reward center in the brain, making it extremely addictive. High levels of sugar, especially fructose, amplifies the stress response, particularly during periods of brain development. That means kids or teens who experience a stressful situation like taking an exam or dealing with a friendship issue, will have more trouble coping if they have consumed a lot of sugar.

Dr. Emily Smith-Greenaway pointed to prior research that shows children who lose a parent are at a higher risk of traumatic grief, depression and poor educational outcomes.

“Many of these negative outcomes associated with parental death don't go away,” Smith-Greenaway said. "They persist into young adulthood, even older adulthood."

Sudden parent deaths, like those caused by COVID-19, can be particularly traumatizing for children, Smith-Greenaway said. The fact that these losses are occurring at a time of social isolation, economic hardship and closed schools may leave many children who experience the death of a parent without structure and emotional support.

Darby Saxbe, founder of the Center for the Changing Family at USC Dornsife, shares why the era of COVID-19 is the perfect time to focus on families, stress and health.

In a well-known study, researchers at the University of California-Los Angeles asked working families to film self-guided tours of their homes. Participants who dwelled on things that needed fixing—such as unfinished projects, repairs or chaotic areas—had weaker recovery of cortisol, the body’s stress hormone, at the end of the day compared to those who described their homes as restful and relaxing. Interestingly, this finding did not apply to the men in the study, only the women who historically “have been socialized to be feel more responsible for the upkeep of the home, even in a partnered relationship,” says Darby Saxbe, PhD, the study’s lead author and director of Dornsife Center for the Changing Family at the University of Southern California. When the housework and improvements pile up, Saxbe explains, your domicile represents a source of demands, rather than a haven from the outside world. If you need to hire a pro for tricky projects, do it: It’s money well-spent if it eliminates mental stress.

Caregiving is a huge yet relatively underdiscussed aspect of society, says Donna Benton, research associate professor at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology.

One in 5 Americans provided unpaid assistance with daily living or medical needs to an adult or a child with special needs last year, according to a 2020 National Alliance on Caregiving report. Those 53 million caregivers, nearly 10 million more than reported in 2015, are needed in large part because of the rapidly aging U.S. population.

For several years, Ph.D. student Abigail Palmer Molina has focused her dissertation study on the experiences of mothers participating in an intervention for maternal depression, implemented as part of the Head Start program in South Los Angeles. The majority of the mothers were Latina immigrants, and Palmer Molina looked at their experiences to provide a richer picture of the intervention's effectiveness.

Associate Professor Dorian Traube, who served as an advisor, believes Palmer Molina's work is groundbreaking in this area.

"With this project, she is delving into how we take this work and make it have really meaningful policy implications," Traube said. "Abigail has this really unique lens. She is an exceptionally well-rounded social worker in that she has this breadth of clinical experience but is also a phenomenal researcher."

A study has found that Californians now embrace telehealth and remote work because of adjustments made during the pandemic, researchers said.

Many respondents to a survey by USC expect to make far fewer work- and heath-related car trips even after restrictions due to COVID-19 end.

“While the COVID-19 pandemic opened new access points for patients, disparities still exist in access related to essential social determinants of health, including race and place of residence. Closing the digital divide holds promise for increasing health equity,” said study contributor Dorian Traube, an associate professor at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work.

A team of investigators led by CHLA's Bradley Peterson, MD, plan a foundational study into treatment of childhood anxiety. One of the additional CHLA investigator is CCF member Amy West, PhD. Other CHLA investigators include: Glenn Takata, MD, Michele Kipke, PhD, Ravi Bansal, PhD, Bhavana Arora, MD, Brad Hudson, PhD, Stephanie Marcy, PhD, and Marie Poulson, PhD.

"We offer the first global estimates of the cumulative number of child deaths experienced by mothers between the ages of 20 and 49, in 170 countries," said Smith-Greenaway.

"We hope that this work will emphasize that further efforts to lower child deaths will not only improve the quality and length of life for children across the globe, but will also fundamentally improve the lives of parents," said Smith-Greenaway.

In a video shared by Professor Michael Goran, an expert in childhood obesity and prevention, he wrote: “Can you guess how much sugar is in one Cadbury Creme Egg (UK version). Watch to see...(Hint: it is more sugar than is recommended for kids of most ages for a whole day.)"

María Prados, a research scientist at USC Dornsife’s Center for Economic and Social Research, explains “Women carry an increasingly heavier load than men when it comes to providing child care and educational support for their children during this pandemic, even while working.”

The coronavirus pandemic has decimated child care centers in California, with many closing permanently. The consequences will adversely affect children, parents, center operators and the state economy.

Child care is part of the foundation for youth learning, according to Dorian Traube, associate professor at the University of Southern California School of Social Work.

Traube studies early childhood education and said if toddlers and preschoolers are missing out on learning opportunities, it could leave some unprepared for school in the future.

“This is fueled by the American idea that child care and early education are two separate topics when in fact, child care is early education,” said Traube. “We know it’s one of the most important developmental periods.”

During a pandemic that has magnified inequities for Americans, USC and the California Emerging Technology Fund have partnered to measure internet access in the state based on demographics and location, identify the impact on those lacking access as the world goes digital and inform policymakers on how to close the gap.

Together, USC and CETF are administering the Statewide Survey on Broadband Adoption, a survey of 1,650 California adults to determine progress toward full broadband access, a public policy goal of state leaders. The survey began Feb. 10 and results are expected by the end of the month.

Black men are dying in disproportionate numbers from COVID-19, often leaving grieving spouses and children behind. USC Dornsife experts discuss how this tragedy connects to a long history of disruption of the Black family in America, from slavery to incarceration.

For the recently-released book, SUGARPROOF: The Hidden Dangers of Sugar That Are Putting Your Child’s Health at Risk and What You Can Do (Avery/Penguin Random House), Dr. Michael Goran, Ph.D., professor of pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, co-director of the USC Diabetes and Obesity Research Institute and expert in childhood nutrition, teams up with co-author Dr. Emily Ventura, an expert in nutrition education and recipe development.

The book is particularly topical with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s recent changes to the Nutrition Facts label, listing hidden sugars, and the new USDA dietary guidelines now recommending infants age 0-2 consume zero added sugars. COVID-19 also adds urgency as high sugar diets weaken the immune system, increasing susceptibility to viral infections.

“The economic fallout, persistent health concerns, uncertainty about the safety and availability of medical care and the closure of schools all combine to make this a very unappealing time for couples to start or expand their family,” said Emily Smith-Greenaway, an associate professor of sociology and spatial sciences at the University of Southern California, said in an interview with HuffPost.

"Women carry an increasingly heavier load than men when it comes to providing child care and educational support for their children during this pandemic, even while working," said María Prados, a research scientist at USC Dornsife's Center for Economic and Social Research.

Increased and prolonged child care responsibilities may make it even harder for women to recover from employment lost during the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.

The $1.9 trillion federal stimulus package includes a temporary expansion of the child tax credit. Some California experts are likening it to a universal basic income and say it’s urgently needed, especially for California’s families with undocumented parents left out of previous stimulus relief.

In fact, not having a child allowance sets the United States apart from other peer nations and leaves us with a much higher child poverty rate, said Clare Pastore, a professor at the USC Gould School of Law who specializes in poverty and civil rights.

“This benefit is a step towards a child allowance, which has been proven over time and in many nations to be one of the most significant steps, if not the most significant step, in reducing child poverty,” Pastore said.

Dr. Darby Saxbe proposes that the new administration appoint a male care czar to concentrate on overturning both institutional and cultural barriers to men’s participation in care.

Demographer Emily Smith-Greenaway teaches sociology and spatial sciences at USC and has quantified the impact of COVID-19 fatalities on its survivors. She says "each death results in about nine Americans grieving the death of a close relative."

Based on that projection, 225,000 people in California were personally affected by the death of someone from COVID-19 in 2020 alone. "The size of the population grieving, and grieving very intimate losses, is just enormous," said Smith-Greenaway.

Dr. Darby Saxbe was quoted in this article about two families who began living together during the pandemic to reduce social isolation: parents are feeling an unprecedented amount of stress now. “We need community,” she said. “COVID has crystallized the cliché that it takes a village. We need the support networks to raise children and keep the house.”

“The economic fallout, persistent health concerns, uncertainty about the safety and availability of medical care and the closure of schools all combine to make this a very unappealing time for couples to start or expand their family,” said Emily Smith-Greenaway, an associate professor of sociology and spatial sciences at the University of Southern California.

In this article, Dr. Darby Saxbe, described how teachers and parents can explain the 2021 Capitol riots to their students and children.

In this Los Angeles Times article Dr. Dorian Traube explains the beginning steps of how to get invovled with therapy and what the experience can be like.

CCF member, Dr. Shan Luo, collaborated in a research study investigating the effects of glucose and sucrose on appetite. 

"Our study found that when young adults consumed drinks containing sucrose, they produced lower levels of appetite-regulating hormones than when they consumed drinks containing glucose (the main type of sugar that circulates in the bloodstream)," said study author Kathleen Page, M.D., of the USC Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles, Calif. "This study is the first to show how individual characteristics, including body weight, sex and insulin sensitivity, affect hormone responses to two different types of sugar, sucrose and glucose. These findings highlight the need to consider how individual characteristics affect the body's responses to different types of sugar and other nutrients in our food supply."

This article, discussing support group for women caregivers, quotes CFF member Dr. Donna Benton. Dr. Benton points out that the financial strain is disproportionately high for Black caregivers — who on average spend more of their annual income on caring for a loved one than white caregivers — and who are more likely to care for a loved one without help from service providers.

Dr. Emily Smith-Greenaway's research is quoted in this article discussing US's grief surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It gives you a sense of how much grief and loss is blanketing our country right now. It gives you a different sense of the scale of this crisis and the far reach that is has in our population," University of Southern California Professor Emily Smith-Greenaway said. "It's very conservative, we are talking about very intimate losses, the loss of a very close relative. We can't capture in our data the loss of more distant relatives."

A memorial at a church in Covina offers residents a chance to mourn losses caused by the Coronavirus pandemic. With some areas hit harder by more than 250K deaths nationwide, this includes anything from a missed graduation to the death of a loved one.

"It gives you a sense of how much grief and loss is blanketing our country right now," said study author and USC Associate Sociology Professor Emily Smith-Greenaway. "What we can't capture in our data, is the loss of more distant relatives. We can't capture friends or coworkers. Our study gives you a conservative sense of loss."

Dr. Emily Smith Greenaway was quoted in an article focusing on the rise in death toll due to the COVID-19 pandemic: “These effects don’t just dissipate when the pandemic ends. We will be grappling with this for a decade going forward,” Emily Smith-Greenaway, an associate professor of sociology and special sciences at the University of Southern California told the TV station.

Dr. Emily Smith-Greenaway's recent research on death and bereavement due to COVID-19 was discussed by ABC7 Eyewitness News.

"Studies show the impact of a quarter of a million COVID-19 deaths is huge on families and the economy. What's the extent of that impact? Our interactive sliders may be able to give you an idea."

Dr. Darby Saxbe is quoted in this article discussing decluttering and the use of tupperware during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under lockdown, we’ve become a nation of tidiers and declutterers – and that’s nothing to be ashamed of, says lifelong tidying fan Pandora Sykes.

U.S. News writes about Dr. Emily Smith-Greenaway's recent article published in PLoS ONE focusing on sibling dealth and bereavement in 43 countries.

Darby Saxbe, Ph.D., the director of the USC Center for the Changing Family, was quoted in an article regarding gender differences in childcare during COVID-19, and specifically with mother's supervising their children's remote learning.

Genevieve Dunton, Ph.D., MPH, a professor of preventive medicine and psychology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, found in a recent study that COVID-19 has had a profound effect on children's exercise.

Dr. Michael Goran, Program Director for Diabetes and Obesity at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, published a new study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, which revealed that consuming sugary beverages during the breastfeeding period may also lead to poorer cognitive development in children nearly two years later.

CCF member and associate professor at USC, Emily Smith-Greenaway, explains the effects of COVID-19 deaths on the family. The article references her study that tracked "the reach of COVID-19 kin loss with a bereavement multiplier."

Dr. Darby Saxbe is quoted discussing father's wellbeing and its influence on their family.

Clare Pastore discusses the role of lawyers in protecting tenants and making eviction processes more fair.

Dorian Traube quoted regarding the effect separation has on the bond bewteen parent and child.

Daniel Bennett quoted in article about fluctuation in anxiety and depression caused by the pandemic.

Darby Saxbe quoted in article regarding coping with pregnancy stress during the pandemic.

Donna Benton interviewd by KPBS regarding the importance of paying attention to and checking in with seniors amid the pandemic.

Donna Benton quoted regarding the health impact of lonliness during the pandemic for senior citizens.

TIMES article highlighting Genevieve Dunton's study measuring changes in activity level of Americans during the pandemic.

Emily Smith-Greenaway quoted in article on the coming "grief tsunami" and how to cope

Darby Saxbe explains how getting the right milk at the right time can help babies get more sleep.

Emily Smith-Greenaway quoted in Washington Post article regarding psychological impact of the death of a child in countries with high mortality rates.

Article written by Emily Smith-Greenaway regarding child mortality in sub-Saharan African countries.

Column written by Donna Benton regarding policy change in caregiving.

Dorian Traube interviewed by KCRW regarding social workers conducting video home visits and its benefits.

Darby Saxbe quoted in a LA Times article regarding the post-pandemic divorce boom and how to maintain a healthy marriage during this time.

Article co-written by Daniel Bennett in Pasadena Weekly regarding changes in behavior and different thoughts on risk of contracting COVID-19.

Darby Saxbe quoted in article about promoting balance in relationships durnig the pandemic.

Emily Smith-Greenaway quoted in article about grief from COVID-19 deaths.

Darby Saxbe interviewed by CBS regarding limiting child screen time.

Book co-authored by Christopher Beam referenced in article about coping strategies during female puberty.

Emily Smith-Greenaway's study referenced in article regarding grief response to COVID-19 caused deaths.

Darby Saxbe featured in KCRW interview about psychological effects of COVID-19.

Article cowritten by Daniel Bennett regarding American response to the coronavirus.

Gayla Margolin, Emily Smith-Greenaway, and Darby Saxbe quoted in article about coping with a family member being diagnosed with coronavirus.

Darby Saxbe quoted in article on improving relationships during quarantine.

Article written by Dorian Traube and Ashwini Lakshmanan about enhancing family health during quarantine.

Julie Cedarbaum featured in KPCC interview to talk about parenting during the quarantine.

Daniel Bennett quoted in article about maladaptive responses to COVID-19.

Article on Daniel Bennett's findings regarding improved hygiene related to COVID-19.

Article on Daniel Bennett's survey regarding perceptions and attitudes related to COVID-19.

Darby Saxbe, Gayla Margolin, Julie Cederbaum, and Genevieve Dunton quoted in article about child education on COVID-19

Darby Saxbe quoted in article regarding family and the effects of quarantine on children. 

Darby Saxbe quoted in article regarding decluttering during Coronavirus self-isolation.

Daniel Bennett quoted in article about how Coronavirus has affected everyday life in Orange County.

Article on Daniel Bennett's findings from an ongoing national survey regarding perceptions and attitudes related to COVID-19. 

Daniel Bennet quoted in article regarding his study on social distancing behaviors due to the Coronavirus.

Donna Benton quoted in Medical Xpress article about taking care of older adults during the current pandemic.

Ashlesha Datar quoted in an article about normalization of obesity.

Ashlesha Datar interviewed regarding her study on social contagion or social transmission in obesity.

Michael Goran quoted in article to give insight on childhood obesity.

Darby Saxbe quoted in CNN article about managing anxiety and maintaining order during COVID-19

Michael Goran quoted in article about his study regarding the benefits of breastfeeding 

Michael Goran quoted in article about his study at The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hosptial Los Angeles 

Emily Smith-Greenaway quoted in article on child mortality in Africa

Paper first authored by Christopher Beam in PsyArXiv Preprints

Cleopatra Abdou hosts two academic parenthood workshops. 

Julie Cederbaum's study referenced in Yahoo Lifestyle article 

Donna Benton quoted in article on gender differences in Alzheimer's Disease

Students and Lauren Shapiro, the director of the Psychology Services at USC, speak out about managing depression and knowing when to seek support

Donna Benton joins a group of civic leaders who will help to develop components of California's Master Plan for Aging

Michael Goran quoted in an article on childhood obesity

Darby Saxbe quoted in article on breast milk feeding 

Article coauthored by Darby Saxbe in The Conversation

Darby Saxbe quoted in article on paid family leave

AHA Innovation Challenge prize awarded to Ashwini Lakshmanan for creating the Baby Steps LA app for parents bringing home their new baby

Article by Darby Saxbe in Scientific American 

Article by Darby Saxbe in The Conversation

News release on study led by Pat Levitt

Dorian Traube's paper in Journal of Child and Family Studies

Dorian Traube quoted in an article on caregiving stress

National Academies of Sciences report on child poverty, including committee member Pat Levitt

Article by Darby Saxbe for The Conversation