The research discussion is 4 pages minimum, single-spaced typed. Please choose one of the topics listed below.  Your task is to find at least 4 empirical articles, summarize and critically evaluate the findings, and relate the findings (if possible) to your own life. You will search for those to articles in Google Scholar. You are also encouraged to search a general information on the topics. 

1. A single-parent family: You can research statistics, single fathers v.s. single mothers, quality of parenting and children’s developmental outcomes, etc.

2. Blended families: You can research statistics, various configurations of blended families, main issues that families are facing, advantages and disadvantages to children’s developmental outcomes, effects of divorce and marital conflict etc.

3. Incarcerated parents and children of incarcerated parents: You can research statistics, various practices of visitations in prisons in the US as well as in other parts of the world and how they possible influence children’s developmental outcomes, parental issues/struggles (both incarcerated parent and a partner of an incarcerated parent), etc. There is no much empirical work on this topic, just do your best to find interesting for you information on this topic.

4. Adoption and foster care: short and long effects on children. Open vs closed adoption. 

5. Family and psychological disorders. You can research parenting children who have psychological disorders or being raised by parents with psychological disorders.