Research Participation

The following behavior analytic studies are currently recruiting participants:

Does your child try to hurt him or herself?

Some children bang their heads, hit themselves, pull their hair, or do other things that look like they are trying to hurt themselves. Usually these behaviors go away, but they could be a sign of a serious behavior disorder known as self-injury. Kennedy Krieger researchers are conducting a study to learn why these behaviors continue for some children and go away for others. They wish to develop prevention and early intervention programs to limit self-injury. If you are the legal guardian of a child aged five years or younger who engages in behaviors that may look like self-injury, you and your child may be eligible to participate in this study. If you qualify, you and your child will participate in several two-part developmental and behavioral evaluations over a two-year period. In Part 1 of each evaluation, you will be asked to complete questionnaires, and Kennedy Krieger’s Departments of Behavioral Psychology and Neuropsychology will conduct interviews and developmental/language questionnaires testing of your child. In Part 2, home observations of your child’s behavior with you will be completed. Each child will receive free developmental and language testing and a toy, and parents will receive $35 compensation for each two-part evaluation.

For more information, contact Michelle Chin, M.S. at 443-923-2892 or via email at chin@kennedykrieger.org.

Principal Investigator: Patricia Kurtz, Ph.D. Kennedy Krieger Institute

If you are interested in listing your study, please contact SungWoo Kahng.