Dr. Luke Russell
Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Science
Family and Consumer Sciences
- About
- Education
- Awards & Honors
- Research
Current Courses
309.001Couple Relationships
496.001Couple Relationships
364.001Helping and Communication Skills for FCS Professions
464.001Helping and Communication Skills for FCS Professions
101.001Human And Family Development
299.001Independent Honor Study
499.011Independent Research For The Master's Thesis
400.011Independent Study
224.001Enduring Issues For Couples And Families
400.011Independent Study
Teaching Interests & Areas
Family Relationships/Interactions, Health and Well-being, Aging, Family Policy, Research Methods
Research Interests & Areas
My research investigates how individuals living in complex family structures (single-parent, post-divorce, stepfamilies, cohabiting families) and contexts organize their relationships, engage in strategies that promote resilience, and maintain family-members’ health and well-being. I am also interested in how broader social institutions (e.g., health care systems, schools, and government agencies) can better function as supportive resources for complex and diverse families.
Google Scholar Profile:
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=PQAq5GUAAAAJ&hl=en
Full Curriculum Vitae (December, 2024)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ytCmNpl_A9E9LwkTGLi7Sz-LdrYCkLOn/view?usp=sharing
Learn more about Family Science:
https://family.science/
Ph D Human Development and Family Science
University of Missouri
Columbia, MO
MS Family Science
University of Missouri
Columbia, MO
BA Human Development and Family Studies & Political Science
University of Connecticut
Storrs, CT
Outstanding Paper Presentation Award
Illinois Council on Family Relations
2024
Phyllis Memken Outstanding Teacher Award
Illinois State University, Department of Family and Consumer Sciences
2022
Research Initiative Award
Illinois State University
2022
CAST Outstanding Researcher Award (Pre-tenure category)
Illinois State University, College of Applied Science and Technology
2021
Departmental Research Award
Illinois State University, Department of Family and Consumer Sciences
2021
Outstanding University Teaching Award (Teaching Initiative Award)
Illinois State University
2020
Book, Chapter
Russell, Luke T., and Rowley, Micheal. "A History of Divorce and Relationship Dissolution Research." In An Introduction to the History of Human Development and Family Science, edited by Andrea Roach and Ashley Ermer, 104-119. New York: Routledge, 2025.
Sprecher, S., Russell, L., Su-Russell, C., & Schmeeckle, M. Social Networks and Extended Families. The Routledge Handbook of Family Communication. Routledge (2022): 277-293.
Russell, L. T. (2020). Cohabitation, remarriage, and step-relationships in Black families: A systems perspective. In A. James (Ed). Black Families: A systems approach. San Diego, CA: Cognella
Chapman, A., Sanner, C., Ganong, L., Coleman, M., Russell, L., Kang, Y., & Mitchell, S. (2016). Exploring the complexity of stepgrandparent-stepgrandchild relationships. In G. Gianesini, & S. L. Blair (Eds.) Divorce, Separation, and Remarriage: The Transformation of Family (Contemporary Perspectives in Family Research, Volume 10) (pp. 101-130) Bingley, United Kingdom: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Ganong, L., Coleman, M., & Russell, L. T. (2015). Children in diverse families. In M. H. Bornstein and T. Leventhal (Eds.), Handbook of Child Psychology and Developmental Science Volume 4: Ecological Settings and Processes in Developmental Systems. (pp. 133-174). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Book, Edited
Su-Russell, C., Russell, L. T., & James Jr. A. (2023). Handbook of Asian American families. Cognella.
Encyclopedia
Kang, Y., Ganong, L., Russell, L., & Coleman, M. (2016). Stepparenting. In C. L. Shehan (Ed.), The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Family Studies. (pp. 1867-1870) Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell.
Russell, L. T., Coleman, M, & Ganong, L. (2016). Remarriage: Starting over. In C. L. Shehan (Ed.), The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Family Studies (pp. 1675-1678). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell.
Russell, L. T. (2014). Preferential treatment of siblings. In M. J. Coleman, and L. H. Ganong (Eds.). The Social History of the American Family: An Encyclopedia. (pp. 1065-1066). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Reference.
Russell, L. T. (2014). Remarriage. In M. J. Coleman, and L. H. Ganong (Eds.), The Social History of the American Family: An Encyclopedia. (pp. 1126-1128). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Reference.
Russell, L. T. (2014). Stepfamilies. In M. J. Coleman, and L. H. Ganong (Eds.), The Social History of the American Family: An Encyclopedia. (pp. 1279-1282). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Reference.
Journal Article
Beckmeyer, J. J., & Russell, L. T. (2024). Identifying a typology of helpful post-divorce family assets: Implications for post-divorce education. Family Court Review, 62(3), 455-473. https://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12808
Ferraro, A. J., Fine, M. A., & Russell, L. T. (2024). A continued and expanded focus on divorce-related research: Honoring traditions and elevating discourse. Family Transitions, 65(1), 1-4. https://doi.org/10.1080/28375300.2024.2317216
Ferraro, A. J., Wilkins-Clark, R. E., Beckmeyer, J. J., Russell, L. T., Brimhall, A. S., & Markham, M. S. (2024). Rethinking utility in divorce education: Use of multi-program evaluation data to uncover markers of post-divorce adjustment. Family Court Review, 62(3), 493-511. https://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12807
Fine, M. A., Ferraro, A. J., & Russell, L. T. (2024). The increasingly global nature of divorce. Family Transitions, 65(3), 169-173. https://doi.org/10.1080/28375300.2024.2364547
Lyons, K. S., Russell, L. T., Bonds Johnson, K., Brewster, G. S., Carter, J. H., & Miller, L. M. (2024). Evaluating the dyadic benefits of early-phase behavioral interventions: An exemplar using data from couples living with Parkinson’s disease. The Gerontologist, 64(7), gnad172. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnad172
Magazine/Trade Publication
Beckmeyer, J. J., Ferraro, A. J., Markham, M. S., Brimhall, A. S., & Russell, L. T. (2024). Parenting education in the context of divorce, separation, and non-coresidence. NCFR Report: Parenting Education. https://www.ncfr.org/ncfr-report/winter-2023/parenting-edu-context-divorce-separation-noncoresidence
Russell, L. T., Sulak, M., Castillo, H. T., Smith, S. L., & Brower, B. R. (2024). Sibling relationships and special health care needs: Considering context, loss, and resilience. NCFR Report: Sibling Interactions and Family Dynamics. https://www.ncfr.org/ncfr-report/winter-2024/sibling-relationships-special-health-care-needs
Russell, L. T., Chapman, A. L., Kanter, J. B., Roach, A. L., & Crossman, K. A. (2019). What’s next in digital scholarship for the Journal of Family Theory & Review. NCFR Report: Family Focus on Policies with Unintended Consequences, 64, 10-11. https://www.ncfr.org/ncfr-report/spring-2019/whats-next-digital-scholarship-jftr
Yazedjian, A., Russell, L. T., & Lannin, D. G. (2023). Behind the curtain: Developing meaningful partnerships with schools. NCFR Report: Family Focus Behind the Scenes.
Yazedjian, A., Russell, L. T., Bible, J., & Lannin, D. G. (2021). Facilitating continuous quality improvement of programs by establishing effective collaborative teams and reciprocal cycles. NCFR Report: Family Focus on Bridging Research Practice. https://www.ncfr.org/ncfr-report/winter-2021/facilitating-continuous-quality-improvement-programs-establishing-effective-cross-functional
Written Case with Instructional Material
Ganong, L., Russell, L. T., & Stoddard, N. (2022). Conducting online research with dyads. SAGE Research Methods: Doing Research Online. https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781529602128
Russell, L. T., Coleman, M., & Ganong, L. (2017). Using grounded theory to study chronic illness in post-divorce families. SAGE Research Methods Cases. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526419309
Presentations
Belonging/Inclusion in Campus Spaces: Considering Caregiving and Intersectional Identities. Annual Conference of the National Council on Family Relations. National Council on Family Relations. (2024)
Developing and Launching a Center for Inclusive Intergenerational Environments: Lessons Learned and Future Directions. Mid-Atlantic Intergenerational Conference. Pennsylvania State University. (2024)
Most/Least Favorite Spaces on a University Campus: Examining Leverage Points and (Dis)similarity across Generations. Mid-Atlantic Intergenerational Conference. Pennsylvania State University. (2024)
Andrea, E. K., & Russell, L. T. (2024, Apr.) SMART recovery: An alternative pathway to recovery for Illinois families. Workshop presented at the Illinois Council On Family Relations 2024 Conference. DeKalb, IL.
Andrea, E. K., Russell, L. T., & Su-Russell, C. (2024, Apr.) State of families: A brief overview of Illinois families. Poster presented at the Illinois Council on Family Relations 2024 Conference. DeKalb, IL.
Beckmeyer, J. J., & Russell, L. T. (2024, Oct.) Post-divorce coparenting: Scholarly definitions & recent findings. Presented as part of “Reimagining parallel parenting series part 1: Insights from research: A review of academic literature and case law.” Kids First Institute. https://www.kidsfirstcenter.org/institute-webinar1
Beckmeyer, J. J., Petren, R. E., & Russell, L. T. (2024, Nov.) Post-divorce repartnering as family transitions. In J. J. Beckmeyer (Chair). Families in transition. Symposium presented at the 2024 Annual Conference of the National Council on Family Relations, Bellevue, WA.
Beckmeyer, J. J., Russell, L. T., & Kline, G. (2024, Nov.) Family structure and parents’ perceptions of the importance of youth developmental assets: Challenging the deficit orientation of structurally diverse families. Poster presented at the 2024 Annual Conference of the National Council on Family Relations, Bellevue, WA.
Brimhall, A., Ferraro, A., & Russell, L. (2024, Nov.) Adverse childhood experiences, coparenting, and post-divorce adjustment. Poster presented at the 2024 Systemic Family Therapy Conference, Lake Buena Vista, FL.
Brimhall, A.S., Beckmeyer, J. J., Ferraro, A. J., Markham, M. S., Russell, L. T., Wilkins-Clark, R. E., McCann, E., Monk, J. K., & Myers-Walls, J. (2024, Nov.). Who Participates in divorce education? Participant characteristics and reasons for attending divorce education. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the National Council on Family Relations, Bellevue, WA.
Grants & Contracts
Center for Inclusive Intergenerational Environment. Illinois State University. Illinois State University. (2023)
Youth and family experiences of transparent school buildings: Perceptions of connection, exposure, and safety. College of Applied Science and Technology - University Research Grant. Illinois State University. (2021)
Evaluating mechanisms associated with college student health and flourishing in structurally diverse families. College of Applied Science and Technology - University Research Grant. Illinois State University. (2019)