Foster Care Impact
The impact of foster care on development
Author: Lawrence, Catherine R; Carlson, Elizabeth A; Egeland, Byron
ProQuest document link
Abstract:
Foster care is a protective intervention designed to provide out of home placement to children living in at-risk home environments. This study employs prospective longitudinal data (N = 189) to investigate the effects of foster care on the development of child behavior and psychological functioning taking into account baseline adaptation prior to placement and socioeconomic status at the time of placement. Comparisons were made among three groups: children who experienced foster care, those who were maltreated but remained in the home, and children who had not experienced foster care or maltreatment …show more content…
The severity and frequency of behavior problems far exceed the norm for children reared at home with similarly adverse backgrounds. Moreover, children with significant behavior problems and clinical diagnoses are likely to remain in foster care for longer periods and are at significant risk for multiple placements due to the level of care required to adequately treat them (Fanshel & Shin, 1978; Simms & Halfon, 1994). Foster care studies also highlight a number of methodological considerations that restrict the interpretation of research findings and our understanding of the impact of the foster care system on development. These include the limited use of preplacement adaptation assessment, the range of informants (e.g., foster parent, relatives, social workers) with varying degrees of familiarity and interest in the child (Halfon, Mendonca, & Berkowitz, 1995), and the lack of differentiation between kinship and unrelated caregiver …show more content…
For this subset, TRF total scores served as both baseline (kindergarten) and postplacement measures (immediately following release from foster care), permitting pre- and postplacement comparisons on the same measure of behavior problems. Corresponding maltreated and control groups were constructed for the analyses. The 3 × 2 (Group × Change) repeated-measure ANOVA examining change in TRF total scores was significant (see Table 3). The Group × Change interaction was also significant. Post hoc comparison of change scores indicated a significantly greater rise in scores within the foster care group than within the maltreated group ( t = 1.74, p < .05). Repeated-measure ANOVA examining change in TRF externalizing and internalizing scores were also significant (see Table 3). Group × Change interactions were significant as well. Post hoc analyses indicated that the rise in the foster care externalizing and internalizing scores differed significantly from the change in the maltreatment group scores ( t = 1.93, p < .05; t = 3.62, p < .001, respectively). The foster care group rise in externalizing scores also significantly exceeded that of the control group (t = 1.96, p < .05). The findings suggest that the externalizing and internalizing behavior problems of children in foster care increased significantly between
Author: Lawrence, Catherine R; Carlson, Elizabeth A; Egeland, Byron
ProQuest document link
Abstract:
Foster care is a protective intervention designed to provide out of home placement to children living in at-risk home environments. This study employs prospective longitudinal data (N = 189) to investigate the effects of foster care on the development of child behavior and psychological functioning taking into account baseline adaptation prior to placement and socioeconomic status at the time of placement. Comparisons were made among three groups: children who experienced foster care, those who were maltreated but remained in the home, and children who had not experienced foster care or maltreatment …show more content…
The severity and frequency of behavior problems far exceed the norm for children reared at home with similarly adverse backgrounds. Moreover, children with significant behavior problems and clinical diagnoses are likely to remain in foster care for longer periods and are at significant risk for multiple placements due to the level of care required to adequately treat them (Fanshel & Shin, 1978; Simms & Halfon, 1994). Foster care studies also highlight a number of methodological considerations that restrict the interpretation of research findings and our understanding of the impact of the foster care system on development. These include the limited use of preplacement adaptation assessment, the range of informants (e.g., foster parent, relatives, social workers) with varying degrees of familiarity and interest in the child (Halfon, Mendonca, & Berkowitz, 1995), and the lack of differentiation between kinship and unrelated caregiver …show more content…
For this subset, TRF total scores served as both baseline (kindergarten) and postplacement measures (immediately following release from foster care), permitting pre- and postplacement comparisons on the same measure of behavior problems. Corresponding maltreated and control groups were constructed for the analyses. The 3 × 2 (Group × Change) repeated-measure ANOVA examining change in TRF total scores was significant (see Table 3). The Group × Change interaction was also significant. Post hoc comparison of change scores indicated a significantly greater rise in scores within the foster care group than within the maltreated group ( t = 1.74, p < .05). Repeated-measure ANOVA examining change in TRF externalizing and internalizing scores were also significant (see Table 3). Group × Change interactions were significant as well. Post hoc analyses indicated that the rise in the foster care externalizing and internalizing scores differed significantly from the change in the maltreatment group scores ( t = 1.93, p < .05; t = 3.62, p < .001, respectively). The foster care group rise in externalizing scores also significantly exceeded that of the control group (t = 1.96, p < .05). The findings suggest that the externalizing and internalizing behavior problems of children in foster care increased significantly between