Wednesday, February 18, 2009

An Invitation to Participate in a Research Study of Latter-day Saint Parents

The below information comes from my friend Steve from high school, who is working on this project. If you meet the criteria, please fill out his survey. It won't kill you...

An increasingly prominent group of religious individuals both inside and outside the U.S. are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Church is currently the fourth largest in the U.S. (Lindner et al., 2007), and its worldwide membership of over 13 million has been projected to reach as high as 250 million by the year 2080 (Stark, 1996). Despite this exponential growth, scant research exists on the relationship between religiosity and parenting within the Latter-day Saint (LDS) faith. The need for additional research on the parenting component of Latter-day Saint families seems especially strong given the faith’s emphasis on specific parenting practices and the importance of family not just in this lifetime, but in the eternities.
My name is Steven Behling, and I am currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. I’m also a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Although I am not yet a parent, I believe my membership and activity level in the Church will impact how I parent my children. The purpose of this research study is to help those outside of our faith better understand how Latter-day Saint religious beliefs and behaviors influence parenting. In order to participate, you must meet the following criteria:

(1) I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

(2) I am a parent of at least one preschool or school-age child.

If you meet both of the criteria listed above, please follow the link at the end of this e-mail to begin the study. If you do not meet both of the criteria listed above, I invite you to send the link on to anyone you know who is a Latter-day Saint parent of a preschool or school-age child.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR PARTICIPANTS
In appreciation for your time and assistance, you will have the option of providing your e-mail address to be placed in a drawing for a $50 Target gift card. Once a sufficient number of participants have completed the study, a drawing will be held and a total of 10 gift card winners will be notified via e-mail. Participants who provide an e-mail address will also have the option of receiving a brief summary of the study’s findings once the study is complete.
Please fill out the questionnaire only once. Parents living in the same home are eligible to participate, provided they complete the questionnaires on their own, without the other parent present. Biological, adoptive, and stepparents are invited to participate.
If you have questions about the questionnaire, please do not hesitate to contact me at sbehling@depaul.edu.
Please follow the link below to begin:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=sevEWRXp0JmepuvOHhB0uw_3d_3d