Bio:

Dr. Han has an extensive background in the issues surrounding policies and services designed to enhance the welfare of children and their families.  She has extensive research experience in the area of child care, maternal employment, and child well-being.  Dr. Han’s current research focuses on: 1) maternal employment and child cognitive and social and emotional well-being, 2) the extent to which parental work schedules (e.g., working at evenings, nights, or rotating shifts) on child care arrangements and on child well-being, 3) the effects of family leave policies on parents’ use of parental leave and how this might affect children’s later cognitive and socio-emotional outcomes, and 4) the developmental experiences of U.S. young children in immigrant families.  Her work has been published in leading academic journals including the Child Development, Demography, Developmental Psychology, Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Journal of Marriage and Family, Journal of Adolescence, and Social Services Review.


Research Interests:

• Social welfare policy, with an emphasis on children and families
• Effects of maternal employment and child care on children's cognitive and social and emotional outcomes
• Impact of welfare reform and child care subsidies on families
• Parental work schedules, child care use, and child well-being
• Cognitive and socio-emotional outcomes of children in immigrant families.

Current Projects:

• Bilingualism and Academic Social Development, funded by the Foundation for Child Development PK-3 initiative.
• Nonstandard Work Schedules and Child Outcomes, funded by Smith Richardson Foundation
• Cognitive and Socio-emotional Outcomes of Children of Immigrants, funded by Foundation for Child Development
• Maternal employment and child care on children's later outcomes, in collaboration with Dr. Jane Waldfogel and Dr. Jeanne Brooks-Gunn.
• Effects of Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) on men's and women's leave-taking usage, in collaboration with Dr. Jane Waldfogel, funded by NICHD.
• Work Schedule and Child Care Use of Low-Income and Welfare Families, funded by National Survey of American Families small grant.
• Nonstandard work schedules among families with children across nations.
  

Select Publications:

Journal Articles
Han, W-J., Ruhm, C., & Waldfogel, J. (2009). Parental leave policies and parents’ employment and leave-taking. Journal of Public Policy Analysis and Management, 28(1), 29-54. 

Daniel, S. S., Grzywacz, J. G., Leerkes, E., Tucker, J., & Han, W-J. (in press).  Nonstandard maternal work schedules during infancy: Implications for children’s early behavior problems.  Infant Behavior and Development. 

Han, W-J., & Miller, D.P. (in press). Parental work schedules and adolescent depression. Health Sociology Review.

Han, W-J., Ruhm, C., Waldfogel, J., & Washbrook, E. (June 2008). The timing of mothers’ employment after childbirth. Monthly Labor Review, 15-27. 

Han, W-J. (2008). The academic trajectories of children of immigrants and their school environments.  Developmental Psychology, 44(6), 1572-1590.

Han, W-J. (2008). Adolescents of New York City immigrant families.  Children and Youth Services Review, 30, 1144-1158.

Miller, D., & Han, W-J. (2008). Maternal nonstandard work schedules and adolescent overweight.  American Journal of Public Health, 98(8), 1495-1502. 

Han, W-J. (2008). Shift work and child behavioral outcomes. Work, Employment, & Society, 22(1), 67-87.

Han, W-J. & Waldfogel, J. (2007). Parental work schedules, family process, and early adolescents’ risky behavior. Children and Youth Services Review,
29, 1249-1266.

Huang, C-C., & Han, W-J. (2007). Child support enforcement and sexual activity of male adolescents. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69(3), 763-777.

Han, W-J. (2006). Academic achievements of children in immigrant families.  Educational Research and Reviews, 1(8), 286-318.

Han, W-J. (2006). Maternal work schedules and child outcomes: Evidence from the National Survey of American Families.  Children and Youth Services Review, 28(9), 1039-1059.

Han, W-J. (2005).  Maternal nonstandard work schedules and child cognitive outcomes.  Child Development, 76(1), 137-154.

Hill, J., Waldfogel, J., Brooks-Gunn, J., & Han, W-J. (2005).  Maternal employment and child development:  A fresh look using newer methods.  Developmental Psychology, 41(6), 833-850.

Han, W-J.  (2004).  Nonstandard work schedules and child care choices: Evidence from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care.  Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 19(2), 231-256.

Han, W-J., Leventhal, T., & Linver, M. R. (2004).  The Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) in middle childhood: A study of three large-scale datasets.  Parenting: Science and Practice, 4(2 & 3), 189-210.

Fuligni, A. S., Han, W-J., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2004). The Infant-Toddler HOME in the second and third years of life. Parenting: Science and Practice, 4(2 & 3), 139-159.

Huang, C-C., & Han, W-J. (2004). Perceptions of child support and sexual activity of adolescent males. Journal of Adolescence, 27(6), 731-738.

Huang, C-C., Han, W-J., & Garfinkel, I. (2003).  Child support enforcement, joint custody, and parental involvement. Social Service Review, 77(2), 255-278.

Han, W-J., Huang, C-C., & Garfinkel, I. (2003).  The importance of family structure and family income on family’s educational expenditure and children’s college attendance: Empirical evidence from Taiwan. Journal of Family Issues, 24(6), 753-786.

Han, W-J., & Waldfogel, J. (2003). Parental leave: The impact of recent legislation on parents’ leave-taking. Demography, 40(1), 191-200.  Nominated for the Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for Excellence in Work-Family Research.

Brooks-Gunn, J., Han, W-J., & Waldfogel, J. (2002).  Maternal employment and child cognitive outcomes in the first three years of life: The NICHD Study of Early Child Care. Child Development, 73(4), 1052-1072.  Received the Award for Best Scholarly Contribution, Society for Social Work Research, 2003.

Waldfogel, J., Han, W-J., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2002). The effects of early maternal employment on child cognitive development. Demography, 39(2), 369-392.  Selected as one of the top 20 for the Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for Excellence in Work-Family Research.

Han, W-J., & Waldfogel, J. (2001). Child care costs and women’s employment: A comparison of single and married mothers with pre-school age children. Social Science Quarterly, 82(3), 552-568.

Han, W-J., & Huang, C-C. (2001). College attendance and education expenditure in Taiwan: Does family structure or income matter? Journal of Social Policy and Social Work, 5(1), 55-98.

Han, W-J., Waldfogel, J., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2001). The effects of early maternal employment on later cognitive and behavioral outcomes. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 63(2), 336-354.

Meyers, M.K., Han, W-J., Waldfogel, J., & Garfinkel, I. (2001). Child care in the wake of welfare reform: The impact of government subsidies on the economic well-being of single-mother families. Social Service Review, 75(1), 29-59.

Han, W-J.  (2000). Child care choices among families with preschool-aged children in Taiwan. NTU Social Work Review, 3, 69-110.

Han, W-J. (2000). Child care usage and expenditures in Taiwan: Evidence from the 1991-1997 Family Income and Expenditure Survey. Journal of Social Policy and Social Work, 4(1), 5-43.

Huang, C-C., Han, W-J., & Garfinkel, I. (2000). Family’s resource allocation in Taiwan: Does family structure matter? NTU Social Work Review, 3, 37-68.

Huang, C-C., Garfinkel, I., & Han, W-J. (2000). The contributing factors to divorced and separate mothers in Taiwan: A test of economic independence hypothesis. Journal of Social Policy and Social Work, 4(1), 45-76.

Mincy, R.B., Lewis, Jr., C.E., & Han, W-J. (2006). Left behind: Less-educated young black men in the economic boom of the 1990s. In R.B. Mincy (Ed.), Black males left behind (pp. 1-10). Washington, DC: The Urban Institute Press.

Last updated July 01, 2009.