Child-maltreatment researchers convene at 10th annual Summer Research Institute at CU

By Susan Lang

How does a mother's depression affect her children's behavior over time? What motivates a foster parent to care for a child with serious psychosocial problems? Why do some cases of child abuse result in the death of a child?

Elliot Smith, left, project manager of the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect (NDACAN) at Cornell, and John Eckenrode, right, professor and chair of human development and director of NDACAN, assist Antoinette Y. Farmer, assistant professor at the Rutgers University School of Social Work, during the Summer Research Institute in Ives Hall, May 30. Charles Harrington/University Photography

To delve into these and similar issues, 13 visiting U.S. researchers concerned with child maltreatment attended the 10th annual Summer Research Institute (SRI) on Cornell's campus, May 28 to June 2.

The participants, ranging from graduate students to senior research faculty at major academic institutions, tapped the expertise of Cornell child-abuse experts and attended specialized colloquia. They also benefited from hands-on computing time with Cornell consultants to exploit the extensive databases of the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect (NDACAN) at Cornell. The archive has about three dozen data sets, including those on child abuse and neglect, child and adolescent well-being, adoption and foster care, parenting among women sexually abused in childhood, decision-making in child protective services, assessing children's testimonial competence, foster parents, runaway and homeless youth and family violence.

"Participants for the SRI are selected on a competitive basis from a wide variety of disciplines, including psychology, social work and medicine," said John Eckenrode, professor and chair of the human development department at Cornell and director of NDACAN. "Over the years, the SRI has brought about 115 scholars to campus. They all have a common goal of understanding the causes and consequences of child maltreatment."

Each SRI participant arrives at Cornell with a preliminary research project and receives help in refining research plans and resolving technical problems and statistical analysis issues. The agenda includes workshops and research presentations, such as on longitudinal data analysis and logistic regression, as well as extensive computer time.

This year's keynote speakers included Eckenrode and Christine Cox, a researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

NDACAN provides an inexpensive and scientifically productive way for researchers to explore important issues in the child-maltreatment field. It is a project of the Family Life Development Center in Cornell's College of Human Ecology. Funding is provided by the Children's Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.