Dr. Conley investigates the impact of family background on child health. He compares health, developmental, and behavioral outcomes among children from the same family, extended family, and community of origin. The project examines: 1) which health conditions and behaviors tend to cluster within families and which are more individually specific or community-driven; 2) why health and behavioral outcomes of some siblings, cousins, or childhood neighbors are relatively similar, while others are not; 3) how siblings affect each other's health behaviors and development; 4) how well proxies for socio-economic status explain differences in child outcomes between families; 5) whether extended family and neighborhoods have an influence on household-level effects; and 6) at what ages family environment is most critical to child health and development, and when communities are more important. Resulting information should help policymakers to better target efforts to improve specific health outcomes or behaviors among at-risk children.

He has received a RWJF Investigator Award and a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation. In addition to academic journals, Conley is a frequent contributor to mainstream media, including The New York Times, Time Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, The Nation, Salon, Le Monde Diplomatique and various other trade publications.