Council on Contemporary Families
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • RSS
Yes, I want to support CCF's work
  • Home
  • About
    • About CCF
    • The Society Pages
    • Make a Gift
    • Become a Friend of CCF
    • CCF’s Student Internship Program
  • CCF News & Events
    • Biweekly Media Briefings
    • News & Upcoming Events
    • Members In The News
    • About the CCF Media Awards
  • Publications
    • By Topic
      • Aging
      • Economic Inequality
      • Couples Conflict, Separation & Divorce
      • Family Counseling, Therapy & Parenting Intervention
      • Gender & Sexuality
      • Health & Illness
      • LGBTQ Partnering & Families
      • Parenthood
      • Public Policy
        • Aging (Public Policy)
        • Child Welfare
        • Health Care
        • Labor & Workforce
        • Marriage & Divorce
        • Reproductive Health
        • TANF & Public Assistance
      • Race, Ethnicity & Culture
        • African American Families
        • Asian American Families
        • Latino Families
      • Singles & Dating
      • Work & Family
    • By Publication Type
      • Brief Reports
      • Fact Sheets
      • Online Symposia
        • 2019 Defining Consent Symposium
        • 2019 Parents Can’t Go It Alone Symposium
        • 2018 Gender Matters Symposium
        • 2017 Gender and Millennials Symposium
        • 2016 Welfare Reform Symposium
        • 2015 Intimate Partner Violence Symposium
        • 2015 Housework, Gender, and Parenthood Symposium
        • 2014 New Inequalities Symposium
        • 2014 Gender Revolution Rebound Symposium
      • Press Releases
      • Unconventional Wisdom
      • Opinion Pieces
    • CCF Books
      • Families as They Really Are (2009)
      • Revised Edition Ensuring Inequality
  • Conferences
    • 2020 CCF Conference Recap!
    • Previous Conference Archives
      • 2018 CCF Conference – Highlights, Pictures, and More!
      • 2016 CCF Conference – Recap!
      • 2014 CCF Conference – Highlights, Summary Talks, Pictures, and More!
      • All Conferences
  • Membership
    • New Membership
    • Membership Profile Update
  • Experts
    • Find an Expert
    • View by Topics

Expert

Richard Petts

Professor of Sociology, Ball State University

Phone:
765-285-5142
Email:
rjpetts@bsu.edu
Topics of Expertise:
Division of Labor in Families / Parenthood: Motherhood/Fatherhood / Public Policy / Work & Family

Twitter: @pettsric  
Website: www.richardpetts.com 

Richard J. Petts is Professor of Sociology at Ball State University. His research focuses on family inequality, seeking to understand how social institutions and/or policies may exacerbate or help to reduce family inequality.

His current work focuses on parental leave as a policy and practice that may help to reduce family inequality. He has published numerous studies on this topic, and findings demonstrate that when fathers take longer periods of leave, they are more involved in their children’s lives, mothers report better relationships with fathers, children report better relationships with their fathers when they get older, and parents are less likely to end their relationship. Additionally, mothers are more likely to engage in positive parenting practices and have better mental health when they take longer periods of leave. As such, increasing access to parental leave will likely improve family outcomes and help to reduce family inequalities.

He is currently expanding on research in this area to consider ways in which we can change the culture surrounding parental leave-taking in the U.S. He is conducting survey experiments that seek to identify the policy conditions that may lead people to be more accepting of workers taking leave.

In addition to his work on parental leave, he has also done substantial work on whether religion may alleviate or exacerbate family inequality. This work suggests that being actively religious promotes positive child development and mitigates some of the inequalities that single mothers face. Additionally, religion may help to promote greater gender equality in caring for children by encouraging (and providing support for) fathers to be more involved in their children’s lives.

Dr. Petts has received funding for his work on parental leave from Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. His research has been published in top academic journals such as American Sociological Review, Social Forces, Journal of Marriage and Family, and Sex Roles. His research has also been featured in media outlets such as ABC News, Bloomberg News, CNN, Forbes, The New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. He is also a member of the International Network on Leave Policies & Research (www.leavenetwork.org), which is an international network of leave policy experts who publish an annual review of international leave policies. 

Share

News & Publications by Richard Petts

  • CCF Experts Featured in The Washington Post, Boston Globe, Deseret News
  • Men and Women Agree: During the COVID-19 Pandemic Men Are Doing More at Home

Recent News & Publications

  • Why Families Need More Financial Support during the COVID-19 Pandemic
  • CCF’s Joshua Coleman on the Complicated Realities of Parental Estrangement
  • New from CCF! Do the Media’s “Sexy Girl” Messages Trump Their “Girl Power” Ones?
  • Media Messages to Young Girls: Does “Sexy Girl” Trump “Girl Power”?
  • CCF Board Member Barbara Risman On How To Help Working Parents While Also Equalizing Children’s Educational Access

Featured Expert

Elizabeth Gershoff

Professor, University of Texas at Austin

View Expert

Browse Publications by Topic

  • Adoption & Foster Care
  • Aging
  • Biracial/ Multicultural Children and Interracial/ Multicultural Families
  • Childcare (Providers & Systems)
  • Children
  • Cohabitation, Committed Relationships & Marriage
  • Couples Conflict, Separation & Divorce
  • Division of Labor in Families
  • Domestic Violence & Child Abuse
  • Economic Inequality
  • Family Caregiving (for Adults, Children, and Disabilities)
  • Family Counseling, Therapy & Parenting Intervention
  • Family Law
  • Feminism & Families
  • Fertility,Reproduction & Sexual Health
  • Gender & Sexuality
  • Health & Illness
  • History & Trends on Gender, Marriage & Family Life
  • Immigrant, Mixed Status & Transnational Families
  • LGBTQ Partnering & Families
  • Loss & Resiliency within Families
  • Media Briefs
  • Military Families
  • Parenthood: Motherhood/Fatherhood
  • Public Policy
  • Race, Ethnicity & Culture
  • Sexual Abuse & Misconduct
  • Singles & Dating
  • Step-Families
  • Transition – Adolescents to Adulthood
  • Transition – Couples to Parenting
  • Trauma and Disaster
  • Work & Family

The Council of Contemporary Families is housed at the University of Texas at Austin through the generous support from:

Why should you support CCF?

Loading Quotes...
© 2014 Council on Contemporary Families - Web Design by HelloAri - Managed by CCF Admin Team