Volume 1 | Issue 4
DISCOVER UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL, CONSUMER AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
WHAT WE DO + WHY IT MATTERS
Simply put, research from the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences is changing lives. With expertise in food and agriculture, environment and water, family and communities, health and wellness, and data and technology, our reach is both broad and deep. But uniting us is a commitment to solving real-world problems that affect people and places in Central Illinois, the United States, and the globe. Here, we showcase a fraction of our world-class research in the area of family and communities, demonstrating tangible solutions to childhood stress and scholastic performance, lifting women and families out of poverty, and promoting healthy infant brain development.
PARENTAL SOCIAL COACHING DURING ADOLESCENCE During early adolescence, kids face challenges such as peer rejection, bullying, and conflict with friends. Parents can act as social “coaches” during this time, but Illinois researchers are finding not all kids benefit from the same types of parental support and advice. Researchers tested the effects of parental coaching styles by measuring electrical activity in youth’s skin—part of the “fight or flight” stress response system—during conversations with their mothers about real peer problems. Kids who exhibited higher physiological arousal during the conversations benefitted from mothers who gave kids space, or encouragement to find their own solutions. For kids with less physiological arousal, offering specific solutions, or equipping them with coping skills, was more successful.
Fight vs. Flight: Some pre-teens benefit from parents who coach them through social situations, but others see greater benefit with a handsoff approach.
VITAMIN N(ATURE) Spending time in nature feels like a luxury, but University of Illinois researchers say exposure to greenery is much more essential than we think. In fact, they have shown nature directly and substantially improves family relationships, school performance, and physical and mental health. For example, Illinois scientists discovered that children who spend more time outdoors have reduced symptoms of ADHD, and are less stressed, more attentive, and less agitated in the classroom. That translates into better test scores, according to a large-scale study in low-income Chicago schools. All else being equal, kids attending schools with greener schoolyards did significantly better on standardized tests than kids in schools not surrounded by trees.
Want to improve test scores and reduce stress in kids? Get them outside!
