AUM receives $508,516 NIH grant to study entrepreneurship and well-being among adults with Down syndrome and their caregivers

Auburn University at Montgomery has received a three-year, $508,516 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to examine how entrepreneurship and employment relate to financial stress, coping and emotional well-being among adults with Down syndrome and their caregivers.

The project, titled “Exploring the Impact of Entrepreneurship on Emotional Well-Being and Financial Stress in Individuals with Down Syndrome and Their Caregivers,” is funded through an NIH R15 Academic Research Award from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development.

Led by Jack Richter, assistant professor of management and AI in the College of Business, the project will provide undergraduate researchers with hands-on research experience while exploring questions that matter to families. Richter will collaborate with a community advisory board and researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Florida State University and the University of Connecticut to conduct the study.

The team hopes their study’s findings will help inform employment programs, policymakers and community support organizations how to approach entrepreneurship as a potential employment pathway for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and the families who support them.

“Families are finding creative ways to create meaningful work for adults with Down syndrome, but we need better evidence about what running a business together means for their financial stress and emotional well-being,” Richter said. “This study will listen to adults with Down syndrome and their caregivers about both the opportunities and the challenges.”

To examine those questions, the research team will recruit 90 pairs of adults with Down syndrome and their caregivers and compare them across three employment groups: those who are unemployed, those who work in conventional employment and those who operate businesses with their caregivers.

The project also will include focus groups with entrepreneurial families to better understand their motivations, challenges and support needs. The study’s community advisory board that includes an adult with Down syndrome, caregivers, advocates and professionals will help guide this portion of the study.

The families represented in the study include some who have created businesses — including bakeries, coffee roasters and mobile food operations — to provide employment for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Through the study, Richter and his research team will examine whether these forms of entrepreneurship are associated with financial stress, coping and emotional well-being for adults with Down syndrome and their caregivers.

“This competitive NIH award reflects the academic strength and importance of Dr. Richter’s research,” said Daewoo Park, dean of AUM’s College of Business. “It also demonstrates AUM’s commitment to expanding faculty scholarship, strengthening its research capacity and creating opportunities for students to contribute to work that can inform future research and practice.”

This research is supported by the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health and administered by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development under Award Number R15HD119728. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Participation in the study

Eligibility criteria include:

• Participants: English-speaking adults aged 18 or older with Down syndrome, alongside their primary caregiver (also aged 18 or older).
• Employment status: Diverse experiences are needed. Researchers welcome adults who are currently unemployed, individuals working for an employer, or those running a business alongside their caregiver. Owning a business is not required.

Participation is entirely voluntary and designed to be accessible from home:

• Online questionnaires: Families will complete online surveys, with one-on-one assistance available via Zoom.
• Group discussions: Participants in the entrepreneurship group may also be invited to take part in virtual group sessions.
• Personal support: The AUM research team will guide each family through the process and confirm eligibility before beginning.

If you and your family would like to share your voice and contribute to this vital research, contact the study team directly: [email protected] and 334-244-3492.

Call for undergraduate research assistants

Richter’s NIH project will support eight paid undergraduate research assistant positions for AUM students.

Student researchers will help develop the study, implement the approved research protocol, complete human-subjects research training, recruit participants, collect and analyze data, and prepare research findings for publication and presentation.

Working with faculty mentors, students also will have opportunities to contribute to manuscripts and earn co-authorship through their contributions. The project also will support one undergraduate student’s attendance at a scientific conference in the study’s year two and another student’s attendance in the third year.

Students interested in a paid or volunteer research position may email a resume and a short paragraph explaining their interest to [email protected]. Applicants should use “Undergraduate Research Assistant” as the email subject line. Applications will be reviewed as they are received. Prior research experience is not required.