Nathan Lutz

 

Training Track: Clinical

Lab: Promoting Adjustment in Children through Evaluation (PACE) Lab 

Advisors: Scott Leon, PhD

Office: Coffey Hall 202

Webpage: LinkedIn,

Miami University, BA, Psychology (Neuroscience minor)

 

Child Welfare, Kin Networks, Social Support, Child Maltreatment, Research Methods, Statistics, Parenting Interventions

 

Understanding the Role of Relationship Satisfaction in Social Support Provision for Youth in the Child Welfare System

 

The objective of this study was to examine kin social support and relationship satisfaction, as well as the interaction between these two variables, in terms of their association with placement stability, externalizing behaviors, and internalizing symptoms for youth in the child welfare system. Ordinary Least Squares Regression methods were used in conjunction with Poisson and Negative Binomial Regression methods. The study also examined two different methods for calculating the interaction term to determine relationship satisfaction’s moderating effect on the relationship between social support and the outcomes. Results suggested that relationship satisfaction does act as a moderator when externalizing behaviors and internalizing symptoms are the outcomes of interest, but it may not moderate the relationship between social support and placement stability. This study introduced a novel way to calculate interactions between individuals when network-based models are used, and it demonstrated that relationship satisfaction may play a role in the way that social support promotes fewer symptoms for youth in the child welfare system. The results of this study suggests that future studies that continue to explore this relationship are warranted.

 

Scott Leon, PhD; Fred Bryant, PhD