Dr. Anis Ben Brik, Associate Professor and Founding Director of the Program for Social Policy Evaluation and Research (PROSPER) at the College of Public Policy (CPP), participated at the international Largefam - Bringing Large Families Back on the Policy Agenda conference. It was organized by the UCD Geary Institute for Public Policy, part of University College Dublin, Ireland. 

Dr. Ben Brik's presentation was entitled “How Children of Large Families Fared During the Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study in 23 European Countries”. In examining children’s perceived difficulties and their family environment, the study found that their behavioral and mental struggles increased in all European Union countries and that many experienced declines in their family environment. 

The study used data from the COVID-19 Family Life Study, led by Dr. Ben Brik. Conducted in 72 countries, global data from the study provided a unique window into the commonalities and differences in how families shaped and were shaped by the pandemic on every continent, across income and education levels, and within all age groups.