Last Update: 10/20/2006 Printer Friendly Printer Friendly   Email This Page Email This Page  

Intergenerational Research Program

Intergenerational research includes studies of how families transmit characteristics, attitudes, behavior, knowledge, and resources across generations and of the implications of these transmissions to the health, well-being and life course of the individuals involved. It also includes the effect of public policy and intervention programs on intergenerational behavior.

The Demographic and Behavioral Sciences Branch Program on Intergenerational Research was formalized with a 2003 request for application (RFA), http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-HD-02-030.html, that was issued jointly with the National Institute on Aging (NIA). The NICHD and NIA have funded 16 research projects under this program. The RFA called for a program of research to help us understand how private behavior is manifest in allocating family resources across the generations and how public policy affects these allocations. It focused on how private family resource allocation decisions result in improvements in health, wealth accumulation (including human capital) and well-being for children, active adults and the elderly.

Many other DBSB grantees and programs also address issues related to intergenerational research.

For more information on the program, please contact Jeff Evans.