Kin and Community Support for Orphans in Cambodia

描述（由申请人提供）：该项目的目的是广泛地促进我们的理解的机制，影响孤儿，特别是通过比较遗传相关性和社会规范的重要性与养育行为。具体而言，该项目的目的是衡量（1）在童年时期失去母亲和/或父亲的人以及在照顾孤儿的家庭中长大的人成年后可能处于的不利地位;（2）任何孤儿的不利地位在多大程度上取决于与养父母的亲属关系;（3）父母与子女之间的团结关系在寄养孤儿与亲生子女之间存在差异，并在不同的社会环境中存在差异。该研究项目以柬埔寨为背景，在1975-79年的危机中，许多儿童失去了父母一方，往往是双亲，其中近25%的人口死亡，而且不同寻常的是，中年到老年人受到的打击尤其严重。该项目需要收集和分析关于这些孤儿及其随后向成年过渡的数据。抽样将从人口监测系统中抽取，该系统涵盖整个社区，捕捉家庭成员之间最重要的关系。此外，DSS的方法，这已成功地实施了早期的支持，从R 03，在这里与随机选择的社区，以增加代表性，环境多样性和样本量相结合。特别是，这一设计允许查明孤儿及其亲生子女的前养父母。该项目的长期目标是促进关于向成年过渡的生物和社会决定因素相互作用的科学知识，扩大传统的数据收集方法，并促进柬埔寨的研究能力建设。在成人死亡率重新上升的国家，预计会出现孤儿危机。在传染病导致孤儿人数增加的情况下，父母相继死亡的孤儿比例特别可能增加。为了保持这些孤儿的健康和福利，并帮助他们顺利过渡到成年，需要全面了解孤儿在童年时期因失去父母一方或双方而受到影响或受到保护的机制。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This project aims broadly at advancing our understanding of the mechanisms that affect orphaned children, in particular by comparing the importance of genetic relatedness and of social norms with respect to parenting behavior. Specifically, the project will aim at measuring (1) potential disadvantages in adulthood among individuals who lost their mother and/or father during childhood and among those who grew up in households caring for orphans; (2) the extent to which any orphan disadvantage depends on the kinship to the foster parents; and (3) the degree to which solidarity bonds between parents and children differ for fostered orphans v. biological children and vary across social environments. This research project is set in Cambodia, where many children lost one, and often both, parents during the 1975-79 crisis, in which nearly 25 percent of the entire population died, and uncharacteristically, middle-aged to older adults were hit particularly hard. The project entails the collection and analysis of data on these orphans and on their subsequent transition to adulthood. The sample will be drawn from a demographic surveillance system (DSS) that, encompassing entire communities, captures the most significant relationships among member households. Moreover, the DSS approach, which has been successfully implemented with earlier support from an R03, is combined here with the random-selection of communities to increase representatively, environment diversity and sample size. In particular, this design allows for the identification of former foster parents of orphans and of their own children. The project's longer term aims are to advance scientific knowledge on the interaction of biological and social determinants of the transition to adulthood, to expand traditional methods of data collection, and to contribute to research capacity-building in Cambodia. Orphan crises are expected in countries experiencing resurgence in adult mortality. Where this resurgence is driven by infectious diseases, the proportion of orphans who loose both parents in succession is particularly likely to increase. To maintain the health and welfare of these orphans and contribute to their successful transition to adulthood requires a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms through which orphans are affected by, or protected from, the loss of one or both parents during childhood.