Skip to main content

Lauren Tighe

IPR Research Assistant Professor; Co-Director of the Northwestern Two-Generation Research Initiative

IPR Research Assistant Professor; Co-Director of the Northwestern Two-Generation Research Initiative

PhD, Developmental Psychology and Social Work, University of Michigan, 2019

Contact: lauren.tighe@northwestern.edu

View CVAdditional Bio Page

Tighe is interested in the role of families in the development and academic success of children and youth. Within the NU2Gen team, she has led numerous two-generation projects including:

  • the effects of an English as a Second Language program on immigrant families using mixed methods,
  • descriptive analysis of the differences in postsecondary outcomes before and after the implementation of a novel college promise program, and
  • the experimental outcomes of a community-based workforce and education training program for parents.

She is an expert in secondary data analysis with large datasets and will lead a new project exploring the role of childcare in the success of parent participants in the HPOG 2.0 program (ACF).

Tighe is a four-time University of Michigan alumna and received her PhD in developmental psychology and social work in 2019. Prior to graduate school, she was a high school math teacher in Detroit.

Selected Publications

Tighe, L. A., Sommer, T. E., Sabol, T. J., Chase-Lansdale, P. L., Yoshikawa, H., Brooks-Gunn, J., Morris, A., & King, C. (2024). A mixed-methods study examining the long-term effects of a two-generation English as a Second Language program on immigrant parents and children. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 01623737241268074.

Tighe, L.A., T.E. Sommer, T.J. Sabol, and P.L. Chase-Lansdale. 2024. Improving the education and wellbeing of student parents. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 1532(1): 10-7 

Sabol, T., J., Chor, E., Sommer, T. E., Tighe, L. A., Chase-Lansdale, P. L., Morris, A. S., Brooks-Gunn, J., Yoshikawa, H., & King, C. (2024). Does adding parent education and workforce training to Head Start promote or interfere with children's development? Child Development. DOI: 10.1111/cdev.14141

Sommer, T.E., L.A. Tighe, T. Sabol, P.L. Chase-Lansdale, H. Yoshikawa, J. Brooks-Gun, A. Morris, and C. King. 2023. The effects of a two-generation English as a Second Language program on immigrant parent and child outcomesApplied Developmental Science. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2023.2174118

Sommer, T.E. J. Jones, L.A. Tighe, P.L. Chase-Lansdale, and A. Addie. 2021. A novel two-generation approach to college promise: HOPE Toledo Promise. Policy Brief, College Promise 

Davis-Kean, P., L.A. Tighe, and N. Waters. 2021. The role of parent educational attainment in parenting and children’s development. Current Directions in Psychological Science. 30(2): 186-92 

Tighe, L.A., and P. Davis-Kean. 2021. The influence of high parental education on children from low-income families. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly. 67(3): 293-328