Home Work

Parenting Inspires Academic Research

Miriam Liss and Holly Schiffrin ’94 already had an interest in child development when they arrived at the UMW Department of Psychology as professors several years ago. Schiffrin had a degree in child development, Liss in clinical child psychology. What cemented their desire to conduct research on how parenting can affect mental health, though, were the births of their own children. They focused on the many ways women walk the tightrope of work and family life, at first managing breast-feeding and diapering and later juggling dance classes, music, and sports. “The interest specifically in parenting has evolved as I’ve become a parent and really struggled personally with the issue of how to juggle work and parenting,” said Schiffrin, mom to two daughters ages 5 and 9. Liss, mother of a 4-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son, has found herself reading every parenting book she could get her hands on, including critical analyses of mothering. “That kind of kept me sane and … [Read more...]