Extensive family study continues providing valuable insights

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While many academic studies on the family focus on the negative, some BYU students and faculty give up most of their summers to study inner-family life and how families remain strong through expected and unexpected crises.

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The Adair family cooks a late breakfast in a picnic area at the end of the Canyon Nature Trail in the American Fork Canyon Thursday morning. This trail is one of several that have guided tours provided by the National Park Services in the American Fork Canyon.
This ongoing study, called the Flourishing Families Project, is a survey of family life.  The project includes a study of hundreds of families in Washington and Utah. For the past five years, these families have been interviewed each summer. During these interviews, family members are video recorded and asked a series of questions regarding family life.  The total interview process lasts about two and a half hours.

Jeremy Yorgason, assistant professor in the BYU School of Family Life, has been with the Flourishing Families Project for the past five years and said the project’s success stems from its quality and quantity.

“An important feature of the study is that we have a very high retention rate (90percent or higher for all five years), which is amazing for a research study of this size,” Yorgason said. “The study has some great qualities, such as having data from 500 families [in Washington] across five years of their lives.”

Students have played a major role in many of the project’s stages. Their jobs include collecting the data, checking it for accuracy and inputting it. They have also participated in research presentations and publications.

Sarah Coyne, assistant professor in the School of Family Life, has been with the program for the last two years. She said the ongoing study has provided lots of valuable insights into family life.

“The project is of great value to the students who collect the data,” Coyne said. “What we learn about the families here is absolutely invaluable, it’s amazing what we have found out about the way families function and grow together.”

The project allows for BYU professors and students to get an in-depth look at the way families function, interact and grow together.  By collecting data through personal interviews, video sessions and group sessions, the researchers have come to better understand the family unit.

Laura Padilla-Walker, assistant professor in the School of Family Life, has been working with this project since its beginning. She said student participation has been integral to the project’s success.

“The most important part of the Flourishing Families Project is the involvement of the students, without which we would not have a project,” Walker said. “This research project is a great opportunity for BYU students to get hands-on experience with research and to really get an in-depth look of inner-family life.”

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