Project Details
Description
Abstract
This study is a longitudinal examination of children (ages 4 – 10 at initiation) adopted from the child welfare
system to determine those factors that influence more adaptive post-adoption development, particularly in the
critical capacity of self-regulation. A primary goal of this study is to evaluate the formative influence of factors in
the home, specifically the parent-child relationship and pet ownership. The specific aims are: (1) In a sample of
285 children adopted from the child welfare system, test the hypothesis that pet ownership is related to the
child's concurrent self-regulation abilities and parent-child relationship when assessed within a year of the
adoption. in a sample of 300 children adopted from the child welfare system, test the hypothesis that pet
ownership is related to the child's concurrent relationship with a primary caregiver at Time 1, (2) test the
hypothesis that pet ownership, including quality of relationship with a pet, at Time 1 positively influences
growth in self-regulation and parent-child relationship as assessed 12 months after Time 1 (i.e., Time 2), and
(3) examine whether associations identified in Aims 1 and 2 are moderated by identified candidate moderators,
such as the age or gender of the child, the child's length of time in the home, and the number and species of
pets in the home. Assessment procedures are multi-method and multi-reporter and include objective report
questionnaires, performance-based tasks, interviews, structured direct observations, diurnal cortisol patterns,
and psychophysiological assessment via an electrocardiogram. The research questions developed and the
assessment strategy employed are derived from attachment theory and a developmental psychopathology
framework to allow integration of the findings into the larger corpus of developmental research. Data will be
collected from children and parents across the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and recruitment will occur in
partnership with the commonwealth's office of Children and Youth Services. All data collection will be done in
the families' homes to improve participation and retention, as well as to gain a better understanding of the
home-life of the families. Results of this study will inform future research on the role of pets in child
development as well as provide recommendations on how to improve outcomes for children adopted from the
child welfare system.
Status | Finished |
---|---|
Effective start/end date | 9/30/19 → 8/31/23 |
Funding
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development: $606,926.00
- National Institute of Child Health and Human Development: $649,380.00
- National Institute of Child Health and Human Development: $618,697.00
- National Institute of Child Health and Human Development: $650,262.00
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