scholarly journals Caregiving quality modulates neuroendocrine and immunological markers in young children in foster care who have experienced early adversity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Reindl ◽  
Anastasia Schippers ◽  
Klaus Tenbrock ◽  
Ann-Katrin Job ◽  
Christian Gerloff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Stress Response ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Early Adversity ◽  
Foster Family ◽  
Children In Foster Care ◽  
Immunological Markers ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Biological Children ◽  
Caregiving Quality

Background: Early adversity is believed to alter the body's stress response systems, putting children at increased risk for somatic and mental health problems. However, it remains unclear whether such alterations normalize under improved caregiving experiences. Thus, the goal of the present study was to investigate i) whether children in foster care show endocrine and immunological alterations relative to children living with their biological families, ii) whether these alterations change over time spent with the foster family and iii) whether the alterations are modulated by current caregiving experiences. Methods: A total of 94 children in foster care and 157 biological children, aged two to seven years, took part in a longitudinal study with three assessments conducted over a 12-month study period. At the initial assessment, children lived for an average of 18 months with their current foster families. Children's cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and progesterone concentrations and cortisol/DHEA ratios were measured in scalp hair and children's secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) levels in saliva. Caregiving quality was assessed based on caregiver-reports and observational measures of caregiver-child interactions. Results: Children in foster care had lower cortisol/DHEA ratios and higher progesterone concentrations than biological children, while no group differences were found for cortisol, DHEA or sIgA. Time spent with the current foster family did not significantly influence the child's endocrine or immunological markers. Importantly, caregiving quality modulated cortisol/DHEA ratios and sIgA concentrations: children in foster care of lower caregiving quality had lower cortisol/DHEA ratios than children in foster care of higher caregiving quality and showed decreasing, rather than increasing, sIgA concentrations across the study period. Conclusions: Our results indicate that caregiving quality in the foster family may have an important modulating effect on selected indicators of the child's stress response and could thereby mitigate the possible consequences of early childhood adversity.

scholarly journals Foster Parents’ Parenting and the Social-Emotional Development and Adaptive Functioning of Children in Foster Care: A PRISMA-Guided Literature Review and Meta-Analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabrina Chodura ◽  
Arnold Lohaus ◽  
Tabea Symanzik ◽  
Nina Heinrichs ◽  
Kerstin Konrad
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Child Development ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Foster Parents ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Developmental Outcomes ◽  
Parenting Behavior ◽  
Foster Families ◽  
Children In Foster Care ◽  
Increased Risk

AbstractChildren in foster care (CFC) are at increased risk for negative developmental outcomes. Given the potential influence of foster parents’ parenting on the development of CFC, this literature review and meta-analysis provide an initial overview of how parenting factors in foster families relate to CFC’s developmental outcomes. We aimed to explore (1) whether foster parents’ parenting conceptualizations are related differently to various CFC developmental outcome variables and (2) how characteristics of foster parents and CFC moderate these associations. Following the recommendations of the PRISMA statement, we searched four databases in 2017 (with an update in May 2020). Forty-three primary studies were coded manually. The interrater agreement was 92.1%. Parenting variables were specified as parenting behavior, style, and goals and were distinguished further into functional and dysfunctional parenting. CFC development was divided into adaptive (including cognitive) development and maladaptive development. Meta-analyses could be performed for foster parenting behavior and developmental outcomes, as well as for functional parenting goals and maladaptive socioemotional outcomes in CFC. Associations between functional parenting behavior and adaptive child development were positive and negative for maladaptive child development, respectively. For dysfunctional, parenting effects were in the opposite direction. All effects were small to moderate. Similar results were found descriptively in the associations of parenting style and child developmental outcomes. We found similar effect sizes and directions of the associations between parenting behavior in foster families and the child’s developmental outcomes as those previously reported for biological families. These findings provide strong support for the significant role of parenting in foster families regarding children’s development in foster care.

scholarly journals Challenges of Assessing Maltreated Children Coming into Foster Care

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Pritchett ◽  
Harriet Hockaday ◽  
Beatrice Anderson ◽  
Claire Davidson ◽  
Christopher Gillberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Assessment Data ◽  
Number Of Children ◽  
Children In Foster Care ◽  
Level Of Concern ◽  
Randomised Controlled ◽  
Psychiatric Problems

Children who have experienced early adversity have been known to be at risk of developing cognitive, attachment, and mental health problems; therefore, it is crucial that children entering foster care can be properly assessed as early as possible. There are known difficulties in assessing children in foster care, for example, in finding a reliable informant. An ongoing randomised controlled trial in Glasgow, Scotland, recruiting infants entering foster care, provides a unique opportunity to explore some of the issues which need to be considered when assessing these children. The assessment data of 70 infants entering care is described while exploring the reliability of foster carers as informants and the importance of infant engagement with tasks. This group of infants was shown to be having more problems than children from the general population. While correlations were found between a carer’s level of concern about a child and the severity of a child’s problem, there were still a number of children displaying worrying problem scores whom foster carers did not report concern. The child’s engagement in the cognitive task showed associations with the child’s attainment on the task. Findings emphasise the importance of a holistic assessment for these children and all should be considered as potential cases with Maltreatment-Associated Psychiatric Problems (MAPP).

Sibling Separation and Placement Instability for Children in Foster Care

2021 ◽  
pp. 107755952110124
Author(s):  
Sarah A. Font ◽  
Hyun Woo Kim
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Black Children ◽  
Model Specification ◽  
Foster Home ◽  
Negative Experiences ◽  
Placement Instability ◽  
Children In Foster Care ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Race Ethnicity ◽  
Sibling Groups

U.S. foster care policy prioritizes keeping siblings together while in foster care. However, prior research on the effects of sibling placement is limited in sample, measures, and research design. In this study, we use data on 2,297 children from an urban county in years 2015–2019 and assess how sibling separation is associated with placement instability. We use multilevel parametric hazard modeling with adjustments for child, sibling, and placement characteristics. Findings indicate that children placed with at least one sibling are less likely to experience a placement move and are specifically less likely to experience a non-progress move (e.g., moves due to problems or negative experiences in their foster home). For larger sibling groups, sibling separation was not consistently associated with placement instability and there was little difference in placement instability for children placed with some versus all siblings. Results were robust to differences in measurement and model specification. Black or Hispanic race/ethnicity was also associated with increased risk of instability, and associations between sibling separation and instability were stronger for Black children, implying enhanced efforts to maintain sibling groups may be especially beneficial for Black children. Overall, findings provide support for the continuation and expansion of policies promoting sibling placement.

scholarly journals Coping with Adversity in the Lives of Children in Foster Care

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viola Tamášová ◽  
Silvia Barnová
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Foster Children ◽  
Foster Parents ◽  
Legal Protection ◽  
Semantic Categories ◽  
Children In Foster Care ◽  
Biological Parents ◽  
Biological Children ◽  
The Family ◽  
Biological Parenthood

Abstract Introduction:The theoretical-empirical study is based on two particular case studies of families bringing up children from institutional care. It deals with the real needs of foster families, with the foster parents’ perception of fostering and their experiences from the time spent with children in foster care, about the children’s behaviour in adverse situations, which the foster parents must deal with in the period of the child’s adaptation to the new environment of their households. The authors accentuate the importance of communication and emotional education from the aspect of personality development of children placed into new families. These children should be prepared for moving from a known into an unknown environment. In the conclusions, the authors give several specific recommendations within the framework of semantic categories dealt with in the chapters and subchapters of the study. Methods:The study is based on a theoretical analysis of the presented issues. For the purposes of the research, the following research methods were used - Content analysis of official documents (job description of social workers in foster family care). - Case studies of two clients of the offices of Social and Legal Protection of Children and Social Curatorship in the field offices of Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family in Nitra and Bratislava Self-Governing Regions carried out in 2018. - Logical operations - analysis, synthesis, comparison. - Interviews with foster carers (Family 1 and Family 2) carried out throughout the whole year 2018. - Generalization in semantic categories which, at the same time, are the titles of the chapters and subchapters bellow, and also in the conclusions and recommendations for foster care and the social practice. Results:For personal development, children need relationships with others. Maternal and paternal love, and care are the basic elements of these relationships - as confirmed in the interviews with foster parents. Alongside with biological parenthood, the so-called “psychological parenthood” has an important role to play. The role of a psychological parent can be filled by the members of own (i.e. biological) family as well as by adoptive parents, foster parents, the biological parents’ partners (stepmothers and stepfathers) and - under certain conditions - also by personnel in facilities of social care. Their psychological needs and the extent of their satisfaction determine what they will experience and how they will feel. Discussion:It is important to prepare parents to accept the fact that foster parenthood is different from biological parenthood. Prospective foster parents often come to the offices of Social and Legal Protection of Children and Social Curatorship with the opinion that not even biological parents are being prepared for their parental roles. Foster parents already having biological children argue - as it follows from the interviews carried out throughout the research - that they are experienced parents and, so, they can bring up foster children as well. They do not realize that foster children bring something new that biological children have never experienced. Biological and foster parenthood are definitely not the same. Conclusions:In the conclusions, the authors point out that children in foster care identify with their parents’ values and opinions. For children who have faced significant adversity in their lives, it is beneficial if the family environment and education are harmonious. Such good conditions can have a positive impact on the children’s entire future lives. In the process of adaptation, the whole network of relationships within the family must be re-structuralized, which requires well-prepared family members.

Mental Health Problems and Treatment Utilization of Children in Foster Care

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Marie Girolamo ◽  
Sandra Jee ◽  
Moira Szilagyi ◽  
Linda J. Alpert-Gillis
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Foster Care ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Treatment Utilization ◽  
Children In Foster Care

scholarly journals INDICADORES DE LA CALIDAD DEL PROCESO DE ACOGIMIENTO FAMILIAR

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 475
Author(s):  
Rosa J. Molero Mañes ◽  
Mª Dolores Gil Llario ◽  
Irene Mª Díaz Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Sense Of Belonging ◽  
Foster Family ◽  
Integrated Development ◽  
Children In Foster Care ◽  
The Family ◽  
Sense Of Satisfaction ◽  
Family Bonding

Abstract:INDICATORS OF THE QUALITY OF THE FOSTER CAREOne of the difficulties in choosing the families who come to foster care is related to the lack of studies that indicate the features needed to support optimal integrated development of children in foster care and also help in the process both the family as the child to generate the necessary resources. The sample consisted of 53 families with 80 children in foster care for three years. The aim was to identify characteristics that allow promote the development of the child. The results underline the importance of establishing secure links between the child and the foster family, the integration of the child in the foster family (the emergence of a sense of belonging), the existence of children in the foster family and a sense of satisfaction with welcoming, by the foster family.Keywords: Foster family, bonding, integration, development.Resumen:Una de las dificultades en la selección de las familias que se acercan al acogimiento familiar está relacionado con la falta de estudios que pudieran apuntar hacia características necesarias que apoyaran un desarrollo integral y comunitario óptimo del menor acogido y a su vez, en el proceso acogedor ayudar tanto a la familia como al menor para generar y/u optimizar aquellos recursos que permitan la consecución de las mismas. En una muestra de 53 familias que a lo largo tres años acogieron a 80 menores nuestro objetivo fue identificar las características que más habían favorecido el desarrollo del menor. Los resultados subrayan la importancia del establecimiento de vínculos seguros del menor con los acogedores, la integración del menor en la familia acogedora (la aparición de un sentido de pertenencia), la existencia de hijos en el núcleo de convivencia y una percepción de satisfacción con el acogimiento, por parte de la familia acogedora.Palabras clave: acogimiento familiar, vínculos afectivos, integración, desarrollo.

Mental Health Problems that Mediate Treatment Utilization Among Children in Foster Care

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 969-978 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Marie Conn ◽  
Moira A. Szilagyi ◽  
Linda Alpert-Gillis ◽  
Constance D. Baldwin ◽  
Sandra H. Jee
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Foster Care ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Treatment Utilization ◽  
Children In Foster Care
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