Current Studies
Below you will find information about current studies in our lab. Results from past studies are shared in the News tab, here, and here.
The goal of the UB Grocery Shopping Studies is to test optimal defaults as a strategy to make healthy choices easier while online grocery shopping. Our first grocery shopping study focused on adults diagnosed with or at risk for Type 2 diabetes. Results showed significant effects of "healthy default" online shopping carts on the nutritional quality of participants' grocery purchases. Our next study in this area will test this approach among families with young children.
In developing our Parenting Toolkit to Promote Healthier Eating, our goal was to examine whether promoting positive parent-child interactions in the context of enriching activities would impact parenting behaviors, which could then affect children's health and well-being. We developed structured play kits that could be used at home as a novel way to promote positive parenting among parents/caregivers of preschool children. We have recently completed data collection for the most recent phase of this work (the Play With Me Study) and will share results here when they are available.
The goal of the UB Restaurant Study is to promote healthier eating in quick-service restaurants, a setting where many children consume a substantial percentage of their daily calories. Choice architecture and repeated exposure strategies are being used to promote healthier kids' meals in 6 locations of a local quick-service restaurant. This 5-year, NIH-funded study is in progress and builds on our pilot research in this area.
The Baby Care Study tests the provision of online support for first-time parents/caregivers, comparing an online program promoting infant sleep to a general baby care group. Among the study's research questions are whether promoting improved sleep during early infancy influences infant sleep, parent sleep, and other outcomes such as infant feeding and parent well-being. This study is in progress.
We also continue to collaborate with our colleagues at Penn State University on the INSIGHT Study, which tests effects of an early-life responsive parenting intervention on infant and child behavior and growth. Our most recent involvement in this work consists of behavioral coding that will help us understand child behavior and parenting in INSIGHT families during middle childhood. A recent publication from this work, led by HABLAB PhD student Sara Tauriello, is available here.
Families can keep an eye on our Participate tab and our Facebook and Twitter accounts @ubhablab for opportunities to participate in research. The Students tab includes opportunities for prospective student research assistants, and the News tab will feature study results as they become available. In addition to working on our current research, our team aims to share and apply research related to child health and behavior via communication of research evidence, community engagement, and outreach efforts.
Below you will find information about current studies in our lab. Results from past studies are shared in the News tab, here, and here.
The goal of the UB Grocery Shopping Studies is to test optimal defaults as a strategy to make healthy choices easier while online grocery shopping. Our first grocery shopping study focused on adults diagnosed with or at risk for Type 2 diabetes. Results showed significant effects of "healthy default" online shopping carts on the nutritional quality of participants' grocery purchases. Our next study in this area will test this approach among families with young children.
In developing our Parenting Toolkit to Promote Healthier Eating, our goal was to examine whether promoting positive parent-child interactions in the context of enriching activities would impact parenting behaviors, which could then affect children's health and well-being. We developed structured play kits that could be used at home as a novel way to promote positive parenting among parents/caregivers of preschool children. We have recently completed data collection for the most recent phase of this work (the Play With Me Study) and will share results here when they are available.
The goal of the UB Restaurant Study is to promote healthier eating in quick-service restaurants, a setting where many children consume a substantial percentage of their daily calories. Choice architecture and repeated exposure strategies are being used to promote healthier kids' meals in 6 locations of a local quick-service restaurant. This 5-year, NIH-funded study is in progress and builds on our pilot research in this area.
The Baby Care Study tests the provision of online support for first-time parents/caregivers, comparing an online program promoting infant sleep to a general baby care group. Among the study's research questions are whether promoting improved sleep during early infancy influences infant sleep, parent sleep, and other outcomes such as infant feeding and parent well-being. This study is in progress.
We also continue to collaborate with our colleagues at Penn State University on the INSIGHT Study, which tests effects of an early-life responsive parenting intervention on infant and child behavior and growth. Our most recent involvement in this work consists of behavioral coding that will help us understand child behavior and parenting in INSIGHT families during middle childhood. A recent publication from this work, led by HABLAB PhD student Sara Tauriello, is available here.
Families can keep an eye on our Participate tab and our Facebook and Twitter accounts @ubhablab for opportunities to participate in research. The Students tab includes opportunities for prospective student research assistants, and the News tab will feature study results as they become available. In addition to working on our current research, our team aims to share and apply research related to child health and behavior via communication of research evidence, community engagement, and outreach efforts.