CALL FOR ARTICLES
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences
Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study: 25th Anniversary
Editors: Lonnie Berger, University of Wisconsin; Kathryn Edin, Princeton University; Anna Haskins, University of Notre Dame; Lenna Nepomnyaschy, Rutgers University; Sarah Pachman, Princeton University
In celebration of the landmark Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study's 25th anniversary, we are soliciting proposals for an issue of RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, situating the study in the larger literature, engaging with key questions using the most recent wave of survey data, inviting comparisons using other data sources, and identifying areas for future research. The issue will provide a lens into how today's heterogenous families form, grow, change, and thrive, using data within and across generations.
The Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS) was initially designed to provide data on an understudied (at the time) and substantial portion, of American children: those born to unmarried parents. Births to unmarried parents in the United States had increased from 15% in 1975 to 34% in 20001 but there was no data source that would allow researchers to understand how these children and their families would fare over time. FFCWS founders, Sara McLanahan, Irv Garfinkel, and Ron Mincy, created FFCWS to fill that gap, meeting families in the hospital when their child was born and capitalizing on the "magic moment" of birth to interview the new mothers and fathers. The study has collected data on a sample of about 5,000 children born in large US cities between 1998 and 2000 at seven time periods: birth and ages 1, 3, 5, 9, 15, and 22. Data have been collected through interviews with parents, the focal child, childcare providers, teachers, in-home interviewer observations, saliva samples, brain scans, and genetic data. Contextual (e.g., census tract characteristics, exposure to gun violence, and school characteristics) and administrative data have been appended to the survey data. Beginning in 2026, an eighth wave of data will be collected on the focal children when they are age 27, and data are currently being collected on children born to original FFCWS focal children. Thus, the breadth of the study allows for intergenerational comparisons between the parents, most of whom were first interviewed in their mid-20s, the young adults, and now the young adults' children, highlighting the diversity of 21st century families.
As the U.S.'s longest-running birth cohort study, and only contemporary birth cohort study of young adults, FFCWS is an unparalleled resource. It offers a unique opportunity to explore intergenerational mobility among today's young adults and to answer key questions about how children have made the transition to adulthood. Further, the cohort has been shaped by a series of significant events (e.g., the Great Recession and COVID-19) and seismic technological and social shifts (e.g., the prevalence of high-speed internet, smartphones, and social media), the impacts of which can be examined to move beyond a groundbreaking study of "fragile families" to encompass how contemporary families fare, function, and thrive within and across generations.
Please click here for a full description of the topics covered in this call for papers.
Anticipated Timeline
Prospective contributors should submit a CV and an abstract (up to two pages in length, single or double spaced) of their study along with up to three pages of supporting material (e.g., tables, figures, pictures, etc.) no later than 5 PM EST on January 7, 2026, to:
https://rsf.fluxx.io
In other words, your submission may be up to five pages in length. This includes everything, abstract, references, etc. Note that if you wish to submit an abstract and do not yet have an account with us, it can take up to 48 hours to get credentials, so please start your application at least two days before the deadline. All submissions must be original work that has not been previously published in part or in full. Only abstracts submitted to https://rsf.fluxx.io will be considered. Each paper will receive a $1,000 honorarium when the issue is published. All questions regarding this issue should be directed to Suzanne Nichols, Director of Publications, at journal@rsage.org. Do not email the editors of the issue.
A conference will take place at the Russell Sage Foundation in New York City on October 8-9, 2026. The selected contributors will gather for a two-day workshop to present draft papers (due a month prior to the conference on 9/11/26) and receive feedback from the other contributors and editors. Travel costs, food, and lodging for one author per paper will be covered by the foundation. Papers will be circulated before the conference. After the conference, the authors will submit their revised drafts by 1/12/27. The papers will then be sent out to three additional scholars for formal peer review. Having received feedback from reviewers and the RSF board, authors will revise their papers by 4/5/27. The final issue will be published open access on the RSF journal website in spring 2028, as well as in several digital repositories, including JSTOR and UPCC/Muse
Please click here for a full description of the topics covered in this call for papers.
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