Participate
Thank you for considering placing your family's name on the International Adoption Project's Participant Registry.
What is the IAP Parent Registry?
The IAP parent registry consists of families who are interested in being contacted about participating in research at the University of Minnesota. Traditionally, Minnesota parents are given an opportunity to join a research registry soon after their child is born in a local hospital. Because these families have been the primary source of subjects for researchers at the Institute of Child Development, children who have come to their families through international adoption have not had the same opportunity to be involved. Therefore, they have been studied less frequently. We believe that having a registry of families created through international adoption will encourage professors and physicians to do more research. It is our hope that this research will give answers and aid to families, agencies, adoption professionals, educators and medical professionals to help children and families succeed.
How do we join?
If you complete the registration form (see link below), your family will be entered in our registry as a family who might be contacted about research projects being conducted by IAP. Whether or not you are contacted will depend on whether your child meets the criteria for a specific project. For example, if a project is focused on language development during entry into formal schooling and your child is 5 at the time of the study, you might be contacted. Whether or not you are contacted for a study, you will receive a yearly newsletter from IAP describing research studies and results.
Confidentiality
The International Adoption Project Participant Registry is confidential. The registry will be maintained by the Institute of Child Development. It will never be given to any researcher who is not directly affiliated with the International Adoption Project without your verbal permission. Completing the form will enter your family on the registry but it will not commit your family to participate in any study. Researchers affiliated with the IAP will contact you, describe what they are doing and you will be given the choice to participate. If you agree to participate in a study, you will have the right to withdraw at any time. You may also remove your family’s name at any time from the registry by calling 612-624-9322 or emailing us at iap@umn.edu.
Registration Form
Please complete the registration form to join the registry. This link will take you away from the IAP site to a secure site in order to submit your information.
"International adoption brings children with varied backgrounds into our state and as professionals who care for children we need to understand the whole range of experiences they bring to their families.
Dr. Dana Johnson, Co-investigator
"The IAP allows us ask and seek to answer some of the challenging and overlooked questions that confront adoptive families, from how to raise a child of a different race and ethnicity to how a child's brain works. "
Dr. Rich Lee, Co-investigator
As a parent of children adopted from another country, I’m excited about the groundbreaking research initiatives of the IAP. Important studies are underway that enhances our knowledge and understanding of children from around the globe whom we’ve chosen to include in our families.
Patti Bower, IAP Parent Advisory Board Member
IAP researchers are busting myths, learning new facts, and exploring uncharted territory in the field of child development – all for the benefit of orphaned children, adoptive families, and those considering international adoption.
Patti Bower, IAP Parent Advisory Board Member
As parents (and prospective parents) of internationally adopted children, we have an unprecedented opportunity to help further vital research by volunteering to include our own children in IAP studies. No one else can provide access to children who meet the study criteria, our participation is crucial.
Patti Bower, IAP Parent Advisory Board Member
Please consider joining the IAP’s registry of adoptive families. By partnering with the IAP, we can play a key role in developing valuable scholarly resources for the adoption community in the years ahead.
Patti Bower, IAP Parent Advisory Board Member
I was eight years old when I came to the US to join my new family. My parents didn’t understand why I acted the way I did. I also didn’t understand why they didn’t understand me. I think all of the testing I did will one day help parents understand a kid like me in a different way, I’m glad I had a chance to play a part.
Katia, 18 years old
Some of the testing I did was boring and some were cool. I did one test where I chewed gum and then spit in a little bottle. I also did tests where I played games I think all of the testing I did will one day help parents understand a kid like me in a different way, I’m glad I had a chance to play a part.
Katia, 18 years old
Working with children who joined their families through international adoption has proven to be some of the most challenging and gratifying research of my career.
Dr. Megan Gunnar, Principal Investigator
The IAP allows us ask and seek to answer some of the challenging and overlooked questions that confront adoptive families, from how to raise a child of a different race and ethnicity to how a child's brain works.
Dr. Rich Lee, Co-investigator
International adoption brings children with varied backgrounds into our state and as professionals who care for children we need to understand the whole range of experiences they bring to their families.
Dr. Dana Johnson, Co-investigator