Recipients of PSC Small Grant Awards

Broadly, my research is focused on family dynamics and population processes. I am interested in how young people navigate the transition to adulthood—including school and work, dating and marriage, and parenthood—during periods of uncertainty and social change. My work at U-M so far has focused on mental health, transitions to marriage and parenthood, and intergenerational family relationships. For my dissertation, I intend to use Covid-19 as a case study of a shock event that dramatically transformed social and economic life and exacerbated many dimensions of uncertainty. How do such conditions shape people’s futures—imagined and actual—regarding marriage and childbearing? More broadly, I hope my research helps us better understand how individuals, couples, and families conceive of, navigate, and cope with uncertainty in their daily life.

I used the small grant funds to support a six-week field visit to Nepal from late January to early March 2023, which helped set the foundations for my dissertation project on family formation and the transition to adulthood. I cannot overstate how meaningful, inspiring, and invaluable this trip was for the advancement of my work. While at ISER-N, I was able to accompany field staff during data collection operations; explore the study area of the Chitwan Valley Family Study; engage with local and visiting researchers about my research ideas and proposed methods; work with and learn from institute staff on issues around survey and field operations; and hire a Nepali language tutor. The PSC award has been essential in helping me further develop my research agenda and will have a direct impact on my research production and graduate student career.