chaosandchildren

Seminar: “Chaos and Children’s Development: How chaotic environmental settings

June 12, 2008
A distance learning panel seminar
Tuesday, June 17
1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Chaos can be defined as:
• unstructured and unpredictable household routines,
• crowding,
• noise, and
• other forms of interruptions of ongoing, daily life.

Learn about
• social and psychological components
• how a chaotic environment influences children’s development from infancy through adolescence
• physical environment effects
• effects of individual difference among children
• how forces such as culture or socioeconomic status relate to chaos

Panel members are:

Professor Gary Evans
Evans is an environmental and developmental psychologist interested in how the physical environment affects
human health and well‐being among children. His specific areas of expertise include environmental stress,
children's environments, and the environment of poverty. Professor Evans received an Honorary Doctorate from
Stockholm University in Sweden in 2006 and is a member of the MacArthur Foundation Network on
Socioeconomic Status and Health.

Professor Dan Lichter
Lichter’s work focuses on demographic topics related to the family and welfare policy, including studies of
children's changing living arrangements and poverty, cohabitation and marriage among unwed mothers, and
welfare incentive effects on the family. Recent papers on poverty trends center on the implications of changing
patterns of family structure, especially the rise in female‐headed families, and maternal employment on poverty
rates among economically vulnerable and historically disadvantaged groups.

Professor Elaine Wethington
Wethington is a medical sociologist, whose research interests are in the areas of stress and the protective
mechanisms of social support. Three current interests include: impacts of life events, chronic difficulties, and
their accumulation on changes in mental and physical health: adaptation to work and family demands during
midlife; social isolation, social integration and health among older people. She is Co‐Director of the Cornell
Institute for Translational Research on Aging.

Panel moderator is:

Associate Professor Rachel Dunifon
Dunifon is director of the Parenting In Context Project. Her research focuses on child and family policy. Specific
research topics include: the influence of welfare reform and other policies on the well‐being of children;
whether and how maternal work behavior influences children; how children fare in various family living
arrangements, such as single‐parenthood and cohabitation; and the role of grandparents in the lives of youth.
Downlink sites will be at the Cornell Cooperative Extension county centers and on the Cornell campus:

‐ Albany: 24 Martin Road, Voorheesville

‐ Cornell Campus: Rushmore Room, 114 MVR Hall

‐ Delaware: Delaware County Resource Center, 34570 State Highway 10, Hamden

‐ Fulton: Johnstown Hotel Ste 210, 55 East Main Street, Johnstown

‐ Jefferson: 203 North Hamilton Street, Watertown

‐ Lewis: 5274 Outer Stowe Street, Lowville

‐ New York City: 16 E. 34th Street 8th. Floor

‐ Ontario: Auditorium, Ag Experiment Station, 630 W North Street, Geneva

‐ Orange: 1 Ashley Ave. Education Ctr., Community Campus, Middletown

‐ Suffolk: 246 Griffing Avenue, Riverhead

‐ Tompkins: 615 Willow Avenue, Ithaca

‐ Warren: 377 Schroon River Road, Warrensburg

20 Corporate Woods Blvd.
Suite 602
Albany, New York 12211
ph: 518-465-0044
fax: 518-465-3219
alt: 800-255-2100
nysdf@nysdental.org

The event is free. Online pre‐registration is required:
www.extensionresources.human.cornell.edu/childrenandchaos/registration.cfm