EMPOWERYOU

Project partners

EMPOWERYOU – Strengthening children and young people in foster and adoptive families

The »EMPOWERYOU« research project aims to empower children, adolescents and young adults who grow up in foster or adoptive families or in youth welfare institutions. In particular, we would like to support children, adolescents and young adults in coping with previous stressful experiences and not (again) experiencing bullying or violence. For this we need your cooperation.

If you have any questions or want to register, you can contact us at any time under Registration to participate.

The entire project consists of several sub-projects, which mainly take place online. We would be very happy if you took part in one or more sub-projects. You will of course receive remuneration for your participation, which you can do from home.

Further information on the requirements and content of participation as well as the participation reward can be found in the overview.

Online survey using a computer and mobile phone (sub-projects 1 & 2)

Participants in sub-project 1 & 2 have access to an online survey in which parents and children can take part. Children and adolescents aged 10 and over will also be given a study smartphone with their consent. For two weeks, several times a day for a few minutes, questions about everyday life and short playful tasks are asked via the study smartphone. The study smartphone has no other functions.

In subproject 1 we would like to learn something about the development and strengths of children and young people from their own perspective and from that of their parents. We are also interested in the support they receive in their family and their social environment in dealing with difficult events in their lives. These include experiences with bullying and violence. In order to get a comprehensive impression, we would like to interview children and young people as well as their parents from different family compositions. All data collected are evaluated anonymously, i.e. given answers cannot be traced back to individual persons.
Contact
Ann-Katrin Wiemann
0521/106 4500
a.wiemann@uni-bielefeld.de

Anika Werner
0521/106 4498
Anika.werner@uni-bielefeld.de
Participate
Children, adolescents and young adults between the ages of 8 and 21 who live with their biological, foster or adoptive parents, as well as their (foster / adoptive) parents can participate.
Participation includes
Two online surveys of parents and their children with an interval of six months. During each survey period, the online questionnaires are activated in several blocks for parents and children or young people. The total processing time for parents and children or young people is 1.5 hours per survey period.
What do participating families get out of it?
1. Compensation in the form of a voucher in the amount of € 50 (if you take part in both survey periods, otherwise proportional remuneration)
2. The chance to win a tablet
3. An insight into psychological research
4. The good feeling of having supported the development of prevention programs
In sub-project 2, the focus is on the recording of everyday experiences, the interpretation of these experiences and a few short playful (cognitive) tasks. For this purpose, following the questions, three different short online games are made available that all children and young people can work on. Participation is easy from home using a laptop or computer. Participants who are ten years of age or older will, with their consent, also receive a study smartphone for the period of two weeks. This will beep three times a day during the week after school or work. At the weekend, the smartphone will beep at six times throughout the day. Answering the questions and tasks on the smartphone takes between 5 and 10 minutes. As the questions and tasks repeat themselves, answering them becomes easier and easier over time. All data is anonymized, which means that in retrospect we cannot see which answers are from whom.
Contact
Sophie Niestroj
0241/8085632
sniestroj@ukaachen.de
Participate
Children, adolescents and young adults between the ages of 8 and 21 living with their biological, foster or adoptive parents can participate.
Participation includes
1. Filling out questions and working on short, playful tasks via the study smartphone on 14 consecutive days (participation only possible from 10 years of age).
2. Processing of short, playful tasks from home on the PC / laptop (twice every six months).
What do participants get out of it
1. As a thank you for their commitment, participants will receive a voucher from us. The amount of the voucher depends on the age.
2. The chance to win a tablet.
3. An insight into psychological research.
4. The good feeling of having supported the development of prevention programs.

Development of the online programs (subproject 3)

In subproject 3, we are developing two online interventions together with foster and adoptive families and other experts:

An online program for foster and adoptive parents with children between the ages of 8 and 13 (project management University of Bremen),
and a second online program for adolescents and young adults between the ages of 14 and 21 with a background in out-of-home care (project management Medical School Berlin).

Since April 2019, we have been holding discussions with foster and adoptive families, young people with a background in out-of-home care and other experts. Here it is discussed which topics can appear in the online programs. Following these discussions, the newly developed online programs will be tested in spring 2020.
Contact
Antonia Brühl
0421 – 218 68542
empowerU@uni-bremen.de
Dr. Betteke van Noort
030 – 7668375841
empoweryou@medicalschool-berlin.de
Participate
1. Foster and adoptive parents with children and adolescents aged 8 to 13 years
2. Adolescents aged 14 to 21 with an out-of-home background
Participation start
Spring 2020
Participation includes
Participation in an online program and the associated online questionnaires and (possibly) a subsequent telephone call to find out your opinion on the program
What do the participants get out of it?
1. Compensation in the form of a voucher of € 70 (for young people) and € 120 for parents
2. Free participation in one of the two online programs

Online program for adoptive and foster parents (subproject 4)

In sub-project 4, we cordially invite foster and adoptive parents to take part in our online program. Together with you, we would like to find out whether the program supports you in dealing with your child’s needs and whether it helps you to protect your child from bullying or violence.

Contact
Antonia Brühl
0421 – 218 68542
empowerU@uni-bremen.de
Participate
Foster and adoptive parents with children and adolescents aged 8 to 13 years can participate
Participation start
Fall 2020
Participation includes
Participate in an online program and complete online questionnaires before, during and after the program
What do you get out of it
1. An expense allowance of € 30
2. Free participation in an online program for foster and adoptive parents

Online program to strengthen adolescents and young adults (subproject 5)

In sub-project 5, we cordially invite young people and young adults to take part in our online program. Together with you we would like to find out whether the program manages to strengthen you and whether it is easier for you to deal with difficult situations in everyday life afterwards.

We specifically invite adolescents and young adults who are between 14 and 21 years old and who live or have lived in external accommodation, e.g. foster / adoptive family, a home, an institution or similar. At two times we would like to ask you to fill out online questionnaires anonymously. This will take about 45 minutes each and you will receive an expense allowance of € 20.
The online program is currently under development and more detailed information on duration and content will follow.
To register or if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at any time under Registration for Participation.
Contact person
Dr. Betteke van Noort
030 – 7668375841
empoweryou@medicalschool-berlin.de
Participate
Adolescents and young adults between the ages of 14 and 21 years can participate.
Participation start
Autumn 2020
Participation includes
Participate in an online program and complete online questionnaires before and after the program
What do you get out of it
1. An expense allowance of € 20
2. Free participation in an online program to empower adolescents and young adults