Donald G. Unger

Education:
Ph.D., Clinical/Community Psychology, University of South Carolina
Fellow, Clinical/Community Psychology, Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, New Haven, CT
M.A., Child and Family Studies, Merrill-Palmer Institute, Detroit, MI
B.A., Psychology, Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, PA

Courses taught:
  HDFS 347: Program Development and Evaluation
  HDFS 364: Field Experiences in Individual and Family Studies
  HDFS 621: Family Studies
  HDFS 637: Program Planning, Assessment, and Evaluation

Interests and activities:
The courses that I teach in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies focus on the development and delivery of services for individuals and their families. I am also the faculty advisor for an undergraduate organization, the Community and Family Services Club. I am especially interested in preventive and empowering interventions for families. In addition, I serve on the core faculty of the Center for Disabilities Studies.

My research has focused on families with children and/or parents with special needs, teen parent families, families in poverty, and families with children at risk for child abuse and/or substance abuse. Current research projects include a) Healthy Start, a community based approach to infant mortality reduction and family wellness, b) research to improve the delivery of early intervention services to families and their children, and c) a study of family conflict and the support systems and coping strategies of youth. I welcome the involvement of both undergraduate and graduate students in my research activities.

I serve on the editorial boards of Family Relations, Marriage and Family Review, the Child, Youth, and Family Services Quarterly, and Children's Services. I collaborate with human service agencies in the local community on program development and evaluation issues. I also serve on the Board of Directors of the Delaware Children's Trust Fund to fund exemplary programs to prevent child abuse and neglect.