Christina J Groark
Biographic Data
| ID | 5823719 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Christina J Groark |
| GIVEN NAMES | Christina J |
| FAMILY NAME | Groark |
| SIGNATURE | GROARK C J |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Pittsburgh |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6671-1241 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 20 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 56 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 20 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2004 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2021 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Conducting International Research and Service Collaborations: Tips, Threats, and Triumphs
Know the Country and Its People
Caregiver Sensitivity and Consistency and Children's Prior Family Experience as Contexts for Early Development Within Institutions
The current study addressed whether two institution‐wide interventions in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, that increased caregiver sensitivity (Training Only: TO) or both caregiver sensitivity and consistency (Training plus Structural Changes: T+SC) promoted better socioemotional and cognitive development than did a No Intervention (NoI) institution during the first year of life for children who were placed soon after birth. It also assessed …
Caregiver–child Interaction, Caregiver Transitions, and Group Size as Mediators Between Intervention Condition and Attachment and Physical Growth Outcomes in Institutionalized Children
This report describes a secondary analysis of data from a comprehensive intervention project which included training and structural changes in three Baby Homes in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation. Multiple mediator models were tested according to the R.M. Baron and D.A. Kenny ( ) causal‐steps approach to examine whether caregiver–child interaction quality, number of caregiver transitions, and group size mediated the effects of the intervention …
The Development of Children Placed Into Different Types of Russian Families Following an Institutional Intervention
This study examined whether interventions in Russian Baby Homes promoting warm, sensitive, and responsive caregiver-child interactions and relationships would be associated with advantages in those children's behavior years after they transitioned to family care. Children ( N = 135) who had resided for at least 3 months ( M = 13.8 months) in one of three intervention institutions were subsequently placed in Russian families (relatives or non-rela…
Research on Institutionalized Children: Implications for International Child Welfare Practitioners and Policymakers
This paper reviews the empirical literature on the effects of institutionalization on young children’s development from the perspective of global child welfare practice and policy. It considers the characteristics of typical institutions, how to assess the quality of care in institutions, the level of physical and behavioral/mental development of infants and young children while residing in institutions, the crucial role of caregiver–child intera…
Supporting families throughout the international special needs adoption process
Chinese collective foster care model: Description and evaluation
Family environments are known to usually be better for children’s development than institutional care. China has experience with different forms of foster care, but none have been empirically evaluated, especially with respect to children’s outcomes. One form of foster care is ‘collective fostering’, in which many foster families live in a single apartment building on the grounds of the institution. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effe…
Global Research, Practice, and Policy Issues on the Care of Infants and Young Children at Risk: The Articles in Context
The original article to which this Erratum refers was published in Infant Mental Health Journal 35(2):87–93 (doi: 10.1002/imhj.21441). The article incorrectly attributes support of the intervention conducted in Nepal to the Mitrataa Foundation; support was actually provided by the International Child Resource Institute Nepal as correctly described by Wright et al. in the same issue. McCall et al. take responsibility for this error and apologize
Global Research, Practice, and Policy Issues on the Care of Infants and Young Children at Risk: The Articles in Context
This Special Issue includes articles that contribute to (a) the global research base pertaining to the development of infants and toddlers at risk, primarily those who are institutionalized in lower resource countries; (b) interventions in institutions and to promote family alternatives to institutionalization; and (c) attempts to create modern child welfare systems emphasizing family care in entire states and countries. This introduction places …
Characteristics of children transitioned to intercountry adoption, domestic adoption, foster care, and biological families from institutions in St Petersburg, Russian Federation
Young children ( N = 381) from three institutions in St Petersburg (Russian Federation) who were transitioned to intercountry (USA) adoption or to various domestic families in Russia did not differ in birth weight, length, head circumference, and rated condition at birth, nor did they differ upon departure from the institutions with respect to physical growth and behavioral development. These results provide little support to the occasional alleg…
Structure, Caregiver–Child Interactions, and Children’s General Physical and Behavioral Development in Three Central American Institutions
This article describes structural characteristics and caregiver–child interactions ( N = 34) in three Central American institutions for infants and young children ( N = 79) and relates differences in these characteristics to differences in children’s physical, behavioral, and cognitive development. Generally, the institution with the smallest group size, fewest children per caregiver, and a few consistent caregivers had children with the best phy…
Age at Adoption: A Measure of Time in the Orphanage or Child-Specific Factors
This study examined the association between pre-adoption variables (e.g., time in orphanage, birth weight) and age at adoption in a sample of 169 children, aged 0–4 years, adopted from orphanages in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation. Time in orphanage was the best predictor of age at adoption. Later adoptees were also more likely to have spent time in a family prior to the orphanage and to have experienced abuse/neglect than earlier adoptees. Th…
The role of transitions to new age groups in the development of institutionalized children
Children in two institutions in St. Petersburg (Russian Federation) experienced ward transitions, one in which caregivers were trained to provide sensitive, responsive caregiving and one that conducted business as usual. A third institution eliminated transitions, received the same training, and implemented a variety of structural and employment changes designed to promote improved caregiver–child interactions and relationships. While the no‐tran…
Implementing changes in institutions to improve young children's development
An estimated 8‐million children, mostly birth to approximately 6 to 8 years of age, live in institutions worldwide. While institutional environments vary, certain characteristics are common, including relatively large groups; high children:caregiver ratios; many and frequently changing caregivers; homogeneous grouping by age and disability status; periodic graduations to new groups of peers and caregivers; and an “institutional style of caregivin…
Characteristics of environments, caregivers, and children in three Central American orphanages
This study provides descriptive empirical information on the environments, organizational structure, caregivers, caregiver–child interactions, and children's general behavioral development and problem behaviors from three institutions for young children in Central America. While the institutions were clean, they were physically sparse and had Infant–Toddler Environmental Rating Scale (ITERS; T. Harms, D. Cryer, & R. Clifford, 2006 ) and Early Chi…
A caregiver–child socioemotional and relationship rating scale
This article reports the construction and pilot reliability, validity, and psychometric properties of a new caregiver–child rating scale that emphasizes caregiver–child socioemotional interactions and relationships. While the scale was developed and studied in orphanages for young children, it potentially could be used in nonresidential early care and education settings as well as for parent–child interactions in the home. The intent was to asses…
A socioemotional intervention in a Latin American orphanage
A pilot intervention that emphasized training and technical assistance to promote warm, sensitive, and responsive one‐on‐one caregiver–child interactions primarily during feeding and bathing/changing was implemented using regular staff in a depressed orphanage for children birth to approximately 8 years of age in Latin America. Despite a variety of unanticipated irregularities in the implementation of the intervention, many beyond the researchers…
Improvements in early care in Russian orphanages and their relationship to observed behaviors
This article describes a unique study that attempts to promote positive social-emotional relationships and attachment between caregivers and children in orphanages in St. Petersburg, Russia. The children who reside in these orphanages are typically between birth and 48 months of age; approximately 50% are diagnosed with disabilities, and approximately 60% leave through foreign adoption. Initially, their orphanage caregivers showed a high level of…
Institution‐based early intervention program
This article details an early intervention program in orphanages in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation. The program is based upon the analysis of the orphanage system and statistical data on children, personnel, and their interaction. The results of observations conducted before the intervention showed crucial deficits of the caregiving staff with respect to their stability and consistency, as well as responsiveness and emotional availability. In…
A socioemotional intervention in a Latin American orphanage
A pilot intervention that emphasized training and technical assistance to promote warm, sensitive, and responsive one‐on‐one caregiver–child interactions primarily during feeding and bathing/changing was implemented using regular staff in a depressed orphanage for children birth to approximately 8 years of age in Latin America. Despite a variety of unanticipated irregularities in the implementation of the intervention, many beyond the researchers…
Improvements in early care in Russian orphanages and their relationship to observed behaviors
This article describes a unique study that attempts to promote positive social-emotional relationships and attachment between caregivers and children in orphanages in St. Petersburg, Russia. The children who reside in these orphanages are typically between birth and 48 months of age; approximately 50% are diagnosed with disabilities, and approximately 60% leave through foreign adoption. Initially, their orphanage caregivers showed a high level of…
Institution‐based early intervention program
This article details an early intervention program in orphanages in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation. The program is based upon the analysis of the orphanage system and statistical data on children, personnel, and their interaction. The results of observations conducted before the intervention showed crucial deficits of the caregiving staff with respect to their stability and consistency, as well as responsiveness and emotional availability. In…
Characteristics of environments, caregivers, and children in three Central American orphanages
This study provides descriptive empirical information on the environments, organizational structure, caregivers, caregiver–child interactions, and children's general behavioral development and problem behaviors from three institutions for young children in Central America. While the institutions were clean, they were physically sparse and had Infant–Toddler Environmental Rating Scale (ITERS; T. Harms, D. Cryer, & R. Clifford, 2006 ) and Early Chi…
Implementing changes in institutions to improve young children's development
An estimated 8‐million children, mostly birth to approximately 6 to 8 years of age, live in institutions worldwide. While institutional environments vary, certain characteristics are common, including relatively large groups; high children:caregiver ratios; many and frequently changing caregivers; homogeneous grouping by age and disability status; periodic graduations to new groups of peers and caregivers; and an “institutional style of caregivin…
Supporting families throughout the international special needs adoption process
Chinese collective foster care model: Description and evaluation
Family environments are known to usually be better for children’s development than institutional care. China has experience with different forms of foster care, but none have been empirically evaluated, especially with respect to children’s outcomes. One form of foster care is ‘collective fostering’, in which many foster families live in a single apartment building on the grounds of the institution. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effe…
Characteristics of children transitioned to intercountry adoption, domestic adoption, foster care, and biological families from institutions in St Petersburg, Russian Federation
Young children ( N = 381) from three institutions in St Petersburg (Russian Federation) who were transitioned to intercountry (USA) adoption or to various domestic families in Russia did not differ in birth weight, length, head circumference, and rated condition at birth, nor did they differ upon departure from the institutions with respect to physical growth and behavioral development. These results provide little support to the occasional alleg…
The role of transitions to new age groups in the development of institutionalized children
Children in two institutions in St. Petersburg (Russian Federation) experienced ward transitions, one in which caregivers were trained to provide sensitive, responsive caregiving and one that conducted business as usual. A third institution eliminated transitions, received the same training, and implemented a variety of structural and employment changes designed to promote improved caregiver–child interactions and relationships. While the no‐tran…
A caregiver–child socioemotional and relationship rating scale
This article reports the construction and pilot reliability, validity, and psychometric properties of a new caregiver–child rating scale that emphasizes caregiver–child socioemotional interactions and relationships. While the scale was developed and studied in orphanages for young children, it potentially could be used in nonresidential early care and education settings as well as for parent–child interactions in the home. The intent was to asses…
Age at Adoption: A Measure of Time in the Orphanage or Child-Specific Factors
This study examined the association between pre-adoption variables (e.g., time in orphanage, birth weight) and age at adoption in a sample of 169 children, aged 0–4 years, adopted from orphanages in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation. Time in orphanage was the best predictor of age at adoption. Later adoptees were also more likely to have spent time in a family prior to the orphanage and to have experienced abuse/neglect than earlier adoptees. Th…
Institution‐based early intervention program
This article details an early intervention program in orphanages in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation. The program is based upon the analysis of the orphanage system and statistical data on children, personnel, and their interaction. The results of observations conducted before the intervention showed crucial deficits of the caregiving staff with respect to their stability and consistency, as well as responsiveness and emotional availability. In…
Improvements in early care in Russian orphanages and their relationship to observed behaviors
This article describes a unique study that attempts to promote positive social-emotional relationships and attachment between caregivers and children in orphanages in St. Petersburg, Russia. The children who reside in these orphanages are typically between birth and 48 months of age; approximately 50% are diagnosed with disabilities, and approximately 60% leave through foreign adoption. Initially, their orphanage caregivers showed a high level of…
A caregiver–child socioemotional and relationship rating scale
This article reports the construction and pilot reliability, validity, and psychometric properties of a new caregiver–child rating scale that emphasizes caregiver–child socioemotional interactions and relationships. While the scale was developed and studied in orphanages for young children, it potentially could be used in nonresidential early care and education settings as well as for parent–child interactions in the home. The intent was to asses…
A socioemotional intervention in a Latin American orphanage
A pilot intervention that emphasized training and technical assistance to promote warm, sensitive, and responsive one‐on‐one caregiver–child interactions primarily during feeding and bathing/changing was implemented using regular staff in a depressed orphanage for children birth to approximately 8 years of age in Latin America. Despite a variety of unanticipated irregularities in the implementation of the intervention, many beyond the researchers…
Implementing changes in institutions to improve young children's development
An estimated 8‐million children, mostly birth to approximately 6 to 8 years of age, live in institutions worldwide. While institutional environments vary, certain characteristics are common, including relatively large groups; high children:caregiver ratios; many and frequently changing caregivers; homogeneous grouping by age and disability status; periodic graduations to new groups of peers and caregivers; and an “institutional style of caregivin…
Characteristics of environments, caregivers, and children in three Central American orphanages
This study provides descriptive empirical information on the environments, organizational structure, caregivers, caregiver–child interactions, and children's general behavioral development and problem behaviors from three institutions for young children in Central America. While the institutions were clean, they were physically sparse and had Infant–Toddler Environmental Rating Scale (ITERS; T. Harms, D. Cryer, & R. Clifford, 2006 ) and Early Chi…
Age at Adoption: A Measure of Time in the Orphanage or Child-Specific Factors
This study examined the association between pre-adoption variables (e.g., time in orphanage, birth weight) and age at adoption in a sample of 169 children, aged 0–4 years, adopted from orphanages in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation. Time in orphanage was the best predictor of age at adoption. Later adoptees were also more likely to have spent time in a family prior to the orphanage and to have experienced abuse/neglect than earlier adoptees. Th…
The role of transitions to new age groups in the development of institutionalized children
Children in two institutions in St. Petersburg (Russian Federation) experienced ward transitions, one in which caregivers were trained to provide sensitive, responsive caregiving and one that conducted business as usual. A third institution eliminated transitions, received the same training, and implemented a variety of structural and employment changes designed to promote improved caregiver–child interactions and relationships. While the no‐tran…
Structure, Caregiver–Child Interactions, and Children’s General Physical and Behavioral Development in Three Central American Institutions
This article describes structural characteristics and caregiver–child interactions ( N = 34) in three Central American institutions for infants and young children ( N = 79) and relates differences in these characteristics to differences in children’s physical, behavioral, and cognitive development. Generally, the institution with the smallest group size, fewest children per caregiver, and a few consistent caregivers had children with the best phy…
Global Research, Practice, and Policy Issues on the Care of Infants and Young Children at Risk: The Articles in Context
The original article to which this Erratum refers was published in Infant Mental Health Journal 35(2):87–93 (doi: 10.1002/imhj.21441). The article incorrectly attributes support of the intervention conducted in Nepal to the Mitrataa Foundation; support was actually provided by the International Child Resource Institute Nepal as correctly described by Wright et al. in the same issue. McCall et al. take responsibility for this error and apologize
Global Research, Practice, and Policy Issues on the Care of Infants and Young Children at Risk: The Articles in Context
This Special Issue includes articles that contribute to (a) the global research base pertaining to the development of infants and toddlers at risk, primarily those who are institutionalized in lower resource countries; (b) interventions in institutions and to promote family alternatives to institutionalization; and (c) attempts to create modern child welfare systems emphasizing family care in entire states and countries. This introduction places …
Characteristics of children transitioned to intercountry adoption, domestic adoption, foster care, and biological families from institutions in St Petersburg, Russian Federation
Young children ( N = 381) from three institutions in St Petersburg (Russian Federation) who were transitioned to intercountry (USA) adoption or to various domestic families in Russia did not differ in birth weight, length, head circumference, and rated condition at birth, nor did they differ upon departure from the institutions with respect to physical growth and behavioral development. These results provide little support to the occasional alleg…
Research on Institutionalized Children: Implications for International Child Welfare Practitioners and Policymakers
This paper reviews the empirical literature on the effects of institutionalization on young children’s development from the perspective of global child welfare practice and policy. It considers the characteristics of typical institutions, how to assess the quality of care in institutions, the level of physical and behavioral/mental development of infants and young children while residing in institutions, the crucial role of caregiver–child intera…
Supporting families throughout the international special needs adoption process
Chinese collective foster care model: Description and evaluation
Family environments are known to usually be better for children’s development than institutional care. China has experience with different forms of foster care, but none have been empirically evaluated, especially with respect to children’s outcomes. One form of foster care is ‘collective fostering’, in which many foster families live in a single apartment building on the grounds of the institution. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effe…
The Development of Children Placed Into Different Types of Russian Families Following an Institutional Intervention
This study examined whether interventions in Russian Baby Homes promoting warm, sensitive, and responsive caregiver-child interactions and relationships would be associated with advantages in those children's behavior years after they transitioned to family care. Children ( N = 135) who had resided for at least 3 months ( M = 13.8 months) in one of three intervention institutions were subsequently placed in Russian families (relatives or non-rela…
Caregiver–child Interaction, Caregiver Transitions, and Group Size as Mediators Between Intervention Condition and Attachment and Physical Growth Outcomes in Institutionalized Children
This report describes a secondary analysis of data from a comprehensive intervention project which included training and structural changes in three Baby Homes in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation. Multiple mediator models were tested according to the R.M. Baron and D.A. Kenny ( ) causal‐steps approach to examine whether caregiver–child interaction quality, number of caregiver transitions, and group size mediated the effects of the intervention …
Caregiver Sensitivity and Consistency and Children's Prior Family Experience as Contexts for Early Development Within Institutions
The current study addressed whether two institution‐wide interventions in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, that increased caregiver sensitivity (Training Only: TO) or both caregiver sensitivity and consistency (Training plus Structural Changes: T+SC) promoted better socioemotional and cognitive development than did a No Intervention (NoI) institution during the first year of life for children who were placed soon after birth. It also assessed …
Conducting International Research and Service Collaborations: Tips, Threats, and Triumphs
Know the Country and Its People
Child Welfare and Adoption (17 works) · Psychology (17 works) · Medicine (13 works) · Psychiatry (13 works) · Developmental psychology (12 works) · Family and Disability Support Research (11 works) · Political science (11 works) · Child Abuse and Trauma (6 works) · Clinical Psychology (6 works) · Institution (5 works)