With degrees from Virginia Tech and Penn State, he specializes in family and child development, including such topics as the division of household labor, family influences upon children’s educational performance, and how risk-taking behaviors in adolescence affect subsequent marital relationships. Most recently, he was a Fulbright Scholar at Xavier University (in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines), served as the chair of the Children and Youth Section of the American Sociological Association, and received the New York State Chancellor’s Award for teaching. He has published in numerous family and sociology journals, and has served as the senior editor of Sociological Inquiry, as well as an associate editor on the boards of several other journals.