IMPROVING CHILDREN’S WELL-BEING: IDENTIFYING MECHANISMS AND TIMING OF FAMILY STRENGTHENING PROGRAMS FOR LOW-INCOME FAMILIES THROUGH DIFFERENTIAL EQUATION MODELING

到目前为止，支持健康婚姻(SHM)和相关研究的发现已经导致其他人得出结论，健康婚姻启蒙是无效的(Johnson，2014)。在回顾了之前对SHM数据的分析后，得出SHM和相关计划在改善婚姻和儿童生活方面无效的结论还为时过早。这项研究的总体目标是使用先进的纵向数据分析(导数、微分方程)来测试理论驱动的假设，这些假设涉及家庭强化计划如何和为什么有效，以及这些计划何时对谁最有效。中心假设是，使用这些先进的方法，可以测试关于变化过程的更微妙和被忽视的理论问题，通过揭示可能被传统统计方法掩盖的关系，将推动加强家庭倡议的领域向前发展。这项研究的具体目的是：(1)确定家庭强化计划改善儿童福祉的机制；(2)确定在儿童的一生中，家庭强化计划为他们的福祉提供最大利益的最佳时间；(3)确定可能限制家庭强化计划为儿童福祉的有效性的现有家庭脆弱性。 样本：支持健康婚姻(SHM)数据集，包括6298对低收入夫妇和他们的孩子。 措施： 婚姻质量 ·调查数据 ·调查项目数据缩减 ·观测数据 儿童结果(儿童内化和外化行为问题以及对父母间冲突的反应) 父母的心理困扰 金融压力/经济安全 养育子女 婚姻稳定 计划登记/接洽

The findings reported to date from Supporting Healthy Marriage (SHM) and related studies have caused others to conclude that healthy marriage initiates are not effective (Johnson, 2014). After reviewing the prior analyses with SHM data, it is premature to conclude that SHM and related programs are not effective for improving marriages and children's lives. The overall objective of this study is to use advanced longitudinal data analysis (derivatives, differential equations) to test theoretically driven hypotheses regarding how and why family strengthening programs work, and when and for whom these programs are maximally effective. The central hypothesis is that using these advanced methods, which can test more nuanced and overlooked theoretical questions about change processes, will advance the field of family strengthening initiatives forward by uncovering relations that may be masked by traditional statistical methods. The specific aims of the study are: (1) Identify the mechanisms through which family strengthening programs improve children's well-being; (2) Identify the optimal time during children's lives when family strengthening programs provide the maximum benefit for their well-being; and (3) Identify existing family vulnerabilities that may constrain the effectiveness of family strengthening programs for children's well-being. Samples: Supporting Healthy Marriage (SHM) dataset which includes 6298 low income couples and their child. Measures: Marital Quality • Survey data • Survey item data reduction • Observational data Child Outcomes (children's internalizing and externalizing behavior problems and reactions to inter-parental conflict) Parental Psychological Distress Financial Strain/Economic Security Parenting Marital Stability Program Enrollment/Engagement