We established the Child and Family Research Institute to act as a research hub in Korea addressing child and family problems in the national and international communities. With the overarching goal of creating “a society in which children and familie ...
We established the Child and Family Research Institute to act as a research hub in Korea addressing child and family problems in the national and international communities. With the overarching goal of creating “a society in which children and families are happy,” we have conducted multidisciplinary child and family research in connection with the local community. We have focused on both families in the general population and families at risk or in crisis to determine the role of facilitative environments in improving developmental outcomes. We have discussed diverse potential prevention and intervention strategies, and we have conducted studies that provide both the foundational developmental knowledge and practical implications.
Particularly, as an exemplar of evidence-based research on children and families, we conducted this study considering the entire lifespan and various family types. The research institute has promoted the “Triple E” vision (etiology, effectiveness, and evidence diffusion) and, more concretely, has aimed to contribute to society by applying results from data analysis and observation (etiology); systematizing accumulated intervention programs and evaluating and testing parenting education program effectiveness (effectiveness); and disseminating evidence-based programs nationwide (evidence diffusion). To this end, we organized four subgroups within the institute (Child and Adolescent Development Team, Data Bank Team, Parent Education Team, and Community Activity Team). The content of each team's research is as follows.
The Child and Adolescent Development Team studies parent-child relationships in families in the general population and those at risk or in crisis by assessing parent-child interaction and attachment. Additionally, the research team has conducted studies using data from the “Panel Study on Korean Children in Out-of-home Care,” which tracked children in out-of-home care for 5 years in the previous stage. The team conducted a comparative analysis study by pooling other nationally representative panel data. Moreover, the team analyzed administrative data that were difficult to collect directly and administered a survey targeting group-home workers and children in out-of-home care. The research team aims to facilitate out-of-home care adolescents’ development into healthy adults by conducting research examining their development during early adulthood and labor market entry.
To systematize the knowledge that can be disseminated across society based on previously collected data, the Data Bank Team has compiled a list of child welfare intervention programs through academic DB searches. The research team classified the programs’ target participants , types of protection, and target protection/risk factors (parents’ education and crisis intervention). The team developed a data bank website to facilitate information search according to clients’ needs. Researchers from this institute with various specialized knowledge, such as children development studies, family studies, social welfare and cost effectiveness, conducted program evaluation. After reviewing and evaluating the programs’ content and the study results on program effectiveness, the team assigned program ratings considering their scientific rigor and effectiveness. Systematizing the current public and private intervention program information has facilitated knowledge sharing with other researchers, practitioners, and policymakers.
The Parent Education Team has conducted qualitative research on parent-role experiences according to lifespan and various family types (prospective parents, parents with adolescent children, grandparents with early school-age grandchildren, mothers of preschoolers in multicultural families, mothers of preschoolers in dual-income families, fathers of unmarried adult children, adolescents discharged from childcare facilities, foster parents, single mothers of adolescents in low-income families, and teenage mothers) and published it in academic journals. Additionally, the team has developed parenting education programs for different developmental stages and family types and tested their effectiveness. The parenting education program’s content was also translated into Chinese, and Chinese parenting educators were trained accordingly.
The Community Activity Team has operated parenting education programs and follow-up programs every year. Beginning in its fourth year, the research institute began operating online parenting education due to the COVID-19 pandemic.