Rukmalie Jayakody, Ph.D.

 

Rukmalie Jayakody
Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Studies

The Gerontology Center
114-J Henderson Building
University Park, PA 16802

Email: jayakody@pop.psu.edu
Phone: (814) 865-2659

 

 

 

 

Grants

Low-Income Women and Marriage Entry: Evidence from Qualitative Data

Source: NIH/NICHD
Active: 5/5/2007 - 4/30/2009

This research focuses on union formation among low-income single mothers. Our specific research questions are: 1) How do low-income single-mothers make decisions about union formation and what are the main factors considered? What role do children from current and former unions play in these decisions?, and 2) What do "new" families look like after transitions into marital and cohabiting unions? What implications do these "new" family types have for family dynamics (e.g., domestic violence, parenting and step-parenting), economic and material resources (e.g., material hardship), and child well-being (e.g., behavior problems)?

Family Structure and Child Outcomes: The Implications of Diversity and Dynamics

Source: William T. Grant Foundation
Active: 07/01/00 - 07/30/07

The proposed research examines the impact of family structure on child outcomes by correcting the conceptual and methodological problems inherent in prior work. While a significant body of research in sociology, economics, psychology and related disciplines report that growing up in a single-parent home has negative consequences for children, the definition of family structure used in these studies overlooks important dimensions of children's lives that may impact child outcomes, calling for a re-examination of the family structure/child outcomes relationship. The proposed research seeks to correct the conceptual and methodological problems present in previous studies to determine more precisely what aspects of family structure influence child outcomes.

 

Moving Up or Getting Stuck? Former Welfare Recipients' Job Retention and Advancement

Source: Upjohn Institute
Active: 07/01/04 - 08/31/06

This study uses a nested quantitative-qualitative design to examine how former welfare recipients are able to advance into better paying jobs while others remain in low wage or unstable employment.

 

 

Research Areas:

 

Individual Development: How does family change affect development across the life course?

Over the last half century, U.S. family structure has diversified due to changes in family processes. Several recent trends (e.g., the rise in divorce, single parenting, and non-marital childbearing) have negative consequences for development, behavior, and the availability of family support, while others (e.g., the decline in adolescent childbearing) are positive or neutral. This grant investigates these topics with respect to : the causes of changes in family structure; the processes by which changes in the family influence well-being in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood; and the impact of development in early life on later economic well-being, psychological adjustment, and intimate relationship quality.

 

Racial and Ethnic Differences in Family Processes and Their Outcomes: How do race/ethnicity and socioeconomic resources jointly influence family patterns and processes?

Race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status are closely related to each other and to family structure and process. Efforts to understand racial/ethnic differences in cohabitation, marriage, childbearing, and family stability typically focus on the structural positions of men and women in different racial/ethnic groups. However, when socioeconomic differences are controlled, racial/ethnic differences in family patterns generally remain, although they are somewhat attenuated. The same can be said of the relationship between socioeconomic status and family outcomes when race/ethnicity is controlled. In order to advance our understanding of these interrelated phenomena, researchers need to move beyond simple main effects models to consider complex interactions and intervening processes. Racial and ethnic subgroups may exhibit varied responses to similar circumstances because of long-standing group differences in the organization of family life.

 

Courses Currently Taught:

HD FS 315 Family Development (3)

 

This course offers an overview of families focusing primarily on contemporary American families. The primary thrust of this course is to step beyond our personal experiences with families and place them within a broader social, historical, cultural and economic context. This class will be multi-disciplinary in its approach to the study of American families.

 
 

Education:

• Boston College, Chestnut Hill, B.A., 1989, Sociology
• University of Michigan, M.S.W., 1990, Social Work (Social Policy)
• University of Michigan, M.A., 1992, Sociology
• University of Michigan, Ph.D., 1996, Sociology