A Personal Uplifting Research Story

          “Even young children can contribute to research if appropriate methods are used” (Whiting, 2009). With so many unknowns facing the field of early childhood and children, research is needed to help children foster across each of their developmental domains. When involving children in research, it is imperative the Institutional Review Board’s requirements for special protection of children in research are followed (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d). I have been able to personally experience a positive example of the effects of research on children and families which followed the Institutional Review Board’s ethical requirements, yet still yielded positive results for a child’s development.

            Five years ago, my uncle became a legal guardian for a three-year old child. The little girl’s mother had been battling chemical addiction for years and had found herself, as well as the child in a compromising situation, causing her to do what she felt was best and give up custody of her c to a person she knew could provide a better life for the child. My uncle took over guardianship of this child with very little prior knowledge about her background. We continue to tell him, he was at the ‘right place at the right time,’ so he could save this little girl.

Over the course of the next several years, this child experienced psychological distress, causing him to seek out support. Due to this little girl’s lack of trust in adults due to her upbringing, her therapist suggested they partake in an ongoing research study at her clinic involving a new type of play therapy. This new therapy would involve multiple family members being present to help the child gain trust in them and build new relationships, while she learned about how to deal with her past. Both my uncle and his new little girl had given their consent and assent to partake in this research. While both my uncle and the researchers understood there may be some ‘skeletons’ which would be revealed from the little girl’s past, they knew if she did not express them, further psychological damage would transpire.

In this situation, while ‘greater than minimal risk’ research was used, the amount of information gained about the child’s past, her new ability to express herself, and the trust she built with extended families members and adults helped her to develop a more psychologically stable state of mind. Due to her participation in the research, the therapist now uses the integration of extended family members within her therapy sessions with young children as a way to incorporate support and relationship building for children.

Research can have wonderful benefits for children and families if ethical, supportive measures are taken. I was excited to observe the effects of research using children within my own life, and I look forward to learning more about research and how I can incorporate it into my personal life circumstance in the future.

Reference

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Office for Human Research Protections

(OHRP). (n.d.) Special protections for children as research subjects. HHS.gov. Retrieved on from http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/policy/populations/children.html.

Whiting, L. (2009). Involving children in research. Paediatric Nursing, 21(5), 32–36. Retrieved

from

http://uhra.herts.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/2299/7736/Appendix%203.pdf?sequence=8.