Age-specific risk factors associated with placement instability among foster children

Placement instability places foster children at an increased risk of negative developmental outcomes. Previous research has yielded inconsistent results on risk factors for placement instability. Therefore, we investigated two research questions: (1) Which child attributes and case histories are associated with placement disruptions (moves indicative of child, agency or caregiver dissatisfaction with the existing placement)?; and (2) How do associations of child attributes and case histories with placement disruptions vary by developmental stage --early childhood (0–5 years), middle childhood (6–12 years), and adolescence (13 years or older)? Using a complete entry cohort of 23,765 foster children in Texas, our results demonstrated that the effects of different risk factors varied by placement end reason and across developmental stages. Of note, kinship placement, compared to non-relative foster care, and placement with all siblings were each associated with an increased risk of substandard care disruptions. Placements with females or Hispanic children were at an increased risk of child-initiated disruption, whereas placements with Black children were more likely to end due to placement mismatch or substandard care reasons. Finally, the adolescence age group was always associated with the greatest increase in risk regardless of disruption reason. These findings provide researchers, caseworkers, and policymakers important information on the risk factors for placement instability among children in foster care.     

Maltreatment experiences and associated factors prior to admission to residential care: A sample of institutionalized children and youth in western Kenya

Objectives

This study aims to determine the prevalence of maltreatment experienced by institutionalized children prior to their admission to Charitable Children's Institutions (orphanages) in western Kenya, and to describe their socio-demographic characteristics, reasons for admission, and the factors associated with prior experiences of maltreatment.

Methods

A systematic file review was undertaken in five CCIs. Demographic, prior caregiving settings and maltreatment data were extracted. Forms of maltreatment were recorded according to WHO and ISPCAN guidelines. Logistic regression was used in bivariate and multivariable analyses of factors associated with reasons for placement and forms of maltreatment.

Results

A total of 462 files were reviewed. The median (interquartile range) age of children was 6.8 (5.08) years at admission, 56% were male, and 71% had lost one or both parents. The reasons for admission were destitution (36%), abandonment (22%), neglect (21%), physical/sexual abuse (8%), and lack of caregiver (8%). The majority of child and youth residents had experienced at least one form of maltreatment (66%): physical abuse (8%), sexual abuse (2%), psychological abuse (28%), neglect (26%), medical neglect (18%), school deprivation (38%), abandonment (30%), and child labor (23%). The most common reason for non-orphans to be admitted was maltreatment (90%), whereas the most common reason for orphans to be admitted was destitution (49%). Girls (adjusted odds ratio, AOR: .61, 95% CI: .39–.95) and orphans (AOR: .04, 95% CI: .01–.17) were both independently less likely to have a history of maltreatment irrespective of whether it was the reason for admission. Children whose primary caregiver had not been a parent (AOR: .36, 95% CI: .15–.86) and orphans (AOR: .17, 95% CI: .06–.44) were less likely to have been admitted for maltreatment, while children who were separated from siblings were more likely to have been admitted for maltreatment (AOR: 1.62, 95% CI: 1.01–2.60).

Conclusions

The high prevalence of maltreatment prior to admission, particularly among nonorphans, suggests the need for better child abuse and neglect prevention programs in communities, and psychosocial support services in institutions. The significant proportion of children admitted for poverty, predominantly among orphans, indicates that community-based poverty-reduction programs might reduce the need for institutionalization.     

The crucial role of the micro caregiving environment: Factors associated with attachment styles in alternative care in Chile

The distribution of attachment styles has been shown to differ between groups of children living with their parents and children placed in alternative care (AC), defined as residential or foster. However, this is the first study in Latin America to explore possible factors affecting the quality of attachment in children living in both residential and foster care. Two groups of children (N = 57) were compared: one group living in Residential Homes (RC) and the other in Foster Care (FC) in Chile. Children’s, caregivers’ and structural factors (e.g., child: caregiver ratios) and their links with attachment styles were investigated. The micro caregiving environment (i.e., the specific individual child caregiver relationship), especially the caregivers’ engagement, sensitivity, disciplinary control and affection, as well as some structural factors (i.e., child: caregiver ratios), were linked to attachment security in children. Specifically, better emotional caregiving and lower child-caregiver ratios were associated with higher rates of secure attachment. The association between quality of care (as measured by the HOME inventory) and attachment styles seems to be influenced by caregiver relationships (as measured by CCSERSS). Caregiver relationship factors (i.e., affection, engagement and sensitivity) directly impact the quality of the attachment children establish with them while living in AC. However, the relationships that caregivers establish with children under their care can be facilitated by good quality structural factors, particularly child-caregiver ratios.     

Continuity for children after guardianship versus adoption with kin: Approximating the right counterfactual

Over the past two decades there has been a rapid increase in the number of children and youth living in guardianship and adoptive homes who were previously in foster care. Further, previous studies compared outcomes for children in guardianship homes to those for children in adoptive homes, despite the fact that many factors likely affect the selection of foster youth into different types of permanent placements. This study examined two counterfactuals for guardianship as a permanent placement type: adoption only and adoption or long-term-fostercare (A + LTFC). Longitudinal outcomes were tracked for children who exited foster care with relatives through guardianship (N = 4,884) or adoption (N = 12,163), as well as children in long-term foster care with relatives (N = 4,840). Propensity scores were used to match children on key indicators. In the matched sample of guardianship versus adoption cases only, children who exited to guardianship were more likely to experience discontinuity than children who exited through adoption, 11% vs. 6% respectively. However, when guardianship was compared to the combination of adoption or long-term foster care, children in guardianship experienced the same proportion of discontinuity, 11% vs. 11% respectively. These results suggest that simply matching guardianship to adoption without taking into account LTFC may be the wrong way to estimate the “what if” counterfactual if children were not discharged to guardianship. Findings also support the use of guardianship as a potential solution for children in LTFC whose caregivers are not planning to adopt.     

Fatal and non-fatal child maltreatment in the US: An analysis of child,caregiver, and service utilization with the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data Set

The purpose of this study was to compare children who are fatally and non-fatally maltreated in the United States. In this first national-comparison study, we used the Child Abuse and Neglect Data Set of children and families who encounter/receive support from child welfare services. We found that children who were fatally maltreated were younger, were more likely to live with both their parents, and that their families experienced more financial and housing instability compared to non-fatally maltreated children. Overall, families in which children die use/receive fewer social services, as compared to families in which children live. We discuss the results with regard to child welfare practice and research.     

Foster care assessment: A study of the placement decision process in Flanders

Family foster care placement decision-making has a weak scientific underpinning. Mostly a ‘variable-oriented approach’ is taken, which requires a lot of information that is not always available. The identification of clusters of foster children with similar characteristics may be a more viable decision strategy. In this study we investigated if foster children could indeed be clustered, which problems were identified at the time of placement, and the influence of placement history. It proved possible to group foster children into two clusters: (1) young children with familial problems and few behavioral problems, and (2) older children with prominent child problems and behavioral problems. For foster children with and without placement history, problems associated with placement proved identical. Considering that a foster care placement did not result in fundamental change in the problems present at time of placement, the importance is stressed of approaching foster care assessment as part of a decision making process which looks back as well as forward. Placement decisions should be based on an appraisal of the appropriateness of foster placement as a solution for the child. In conjunction with this appraisal a decision is required on how parents can be supported toward reunification. Or – if this is not an option – whether long term foster care is the best option for the child and if so, what conditions need to be met.     

A history in-care predicts unique characteristics in a homeless population with mental illness

Multiple studies of homeless persons report an increased prevalence of a history in-care, but there is a dearth of information on associated outcomes or relevant demographic profiles. This information is critical to understanding if certain individuals are at elevated risk or might benefit from specific intervention. Here, we investigate how a history in-care relates to demographics and multiple outcome measures in a homeless population with mental illness. Using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), the Short-Form 12, and a trauma questionnaire, we investigated baseline differences in demographics and length of homelessness in the At Home/Chez Soi Trial (N = 504) Winnipeg homeless population with and without a history in-care. Approximately 50% of the homeless sample reported a history in-care. This group was significantly more likely to be young, female, married or cohabitating, of Aboriginal heritage, have less education, and have longer lifetime homelessness. Individuals of Aboriginal heritage with a history in-care were significantly more likely to report a familial history of residential school. Individuals with a history in-care experienced different prevalence rates of Axis 1 mental disorders. Those with a history in-care also reported significantly more traumatic events (particularly interpersonal). A distinctive high-risk profile emerged for individuals with a history in-care. Sociocultural factors of colonization and intergenerational transmission of trauma appear to be particularly relevant in the trajectories for individuals of Aboriginal heritage. Given the high prevalence of a history in-care, interventions and policy should reflect the specific vulnerability of this population, particularly in regards to trauma-informed services.     

The relationship between time spent living with kin and adolescent functioning in youth with a history of out-of-home placement

Objective

Many children in the US who are court-ordered to live in out-of-home care are placed with kinship caregivers. Few studies have examined the impact of living with kin on child well-being. This study examined the relationship between length of time living with kin and indices of adolescent well-being in a cohort of children who were initially court-ordered into out-of-home care.

Methods

Prospective cohort design with 148 youth, ages 7-12, who entered out-of-home care between May, 1990, and October, 1991. Seventy-five percent of those interviewed at T1 (6 months following placement) were interviewed at T2 (5 years later).

Results

Bivariate analyses did not demonstrate significant relationships between length of time living with kin and the outcome variables. In multivariate analyses, longer length of time living with kin was related to: (1) greater involvement in risk behaviors including: delinquency (β = .22, p < .05), sexual risk behaviors (β = .31, p < .05), substance use (β = .26, p < .05), and total risk behaviors (β = .27, p < .05), and (2) poorer life-course outcomes including: Tickets/Arrests (OR = 1.4, p < .05) and lower grades (β = −.24, p < .05). Time living with kin was not related to total competence, or self-destructive, internalizing, externalizing, or total behavior problems. There were trends (p < .10) for time living with kin to predict greater trauma symptomatology (β = .17) and suspensions (OR = 1.1).

Conclusions

There were no significant bivariate findings. The multivariate findings suggested a pattern of poorer functioning for youth who spent more time living with kin. No differences were found in current symptomatology.

Practice implications

Although findings from a single study should not dictate changes in practice or policy, the current study's findings do suggest that the field needs to conduct more methodologically sophisticated research on the impact of kinship care.     

An intervention to improve sibling relationship quality among youth in foster care: Results of a randomized clinical trial

Sibling programming is an important part of a prevention framework, particularly for youth in foster care. After children are removed from their families and placed into foster care in the aftermath of maltreatment, the sibling relationship is often the most viable ongoing relationship available to the child, and may be critical to a youth’s sense of connection, emotional support, and continuity. The promise of dyadic sibling programming in particular rests on the ability of interventions to enhance the quality of sibling relationships; yet little research exists that suggests that sibling interventions can improve relationship quality among foster youth. The primary aim of the current study was to examine the effects of a specific dyadic sibling-focused intervention for older and younger siblings on sibling relationship quality. One hundred sixty four dyads (328 youth) participated in the study, with each dyad consisting of an older sibling between 11 and 15 years of age at baseline and a younger sibling separated in age by less than 4 years. Hierarchical linear models were applied to self-reported, observer-reported and observational data over the 18-month study period. Findings suggest that the sibling intervention holds promise for improving sibling relationship quality among youth in foster care. Implications and future directions for research are discussed.     

Rates of meaningful change in the mental health of children in long-term out-of-home care: A seven- to nine-year prospective study

Children residing in long-term out-of-home care have high rates of clinical-level mental health difficulties. However, the stability of these children’s difficulties throughout their time in care is uncertain. This paper reports estimates of the seven- to nine-year stability of carer-reported scores on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and Assessment Checklists for Children (ACC) and Adolescents (ACA) for 85 children in long-term foster or kinship care. Prospective score changes on the CBCL total problems and ACC-ACA shared-item scales were assigned to one of four change groups: ‘sustained mental health’; ‘meaningful improvement’; ‘no meaningful change’; and ‘meaningful deterioration’. On each of the two measures, more than 60% of children manifested either sustained mental health or meaningful improvement in their mental health, while less than a quarter showed meaningful deterioration. Mean mental health scores for the aggregate sample did not change over the 7–9 year period. Findings discount the presence of a uniform, population-wide effect—suggesting instead, that children’s mental health follows several distinct trajectories. Rather than asking whether long-term care is generally therapeutic or harmful for the development of previously maltreated children, future investigations should focus on the questions “…what are the systemic and interpersonal characteristics of care that promote and sustain children’s psychological development throughout childhood, and what characteristics are developmentally harmful?” and “…for which children is care therapeutic, and for which children is it not?”     

Interpersonal violence: identification of associated features in a clinical sample

Violence is a burdensome problem in daily psychiatric practice, even though the diagnosisof a mental disorder is not sufficient to determine a violent behavior; therefore, other factors are involved. We predicted that the participants could be distributed in two groups (e.g. high versus low violence-maltreatment groups) because this grouping would better describe specific patterns of associations in a clinical sample. We aimed to investigate the relation between interpersonal violence and maltreating experiences in childhood. Affective states and personal functioning were also explored as meaningful outcomes. Consecutive patients (N = 101) admitted to a psychiatric unit were evaluated with the Risky Families Questionnaire, the Psychological Maltreatment Review, the Karolinska Interpersonal Violence Scale (KIVS), the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule and the Personal and Social Performance Scale. Single, with average education and unemployed individuals showed significantly higher KIVS scores. High levels of interpersonal violence (IV) in childhood correlated with a harsh family climate in early life. Moreover, IV correlated with perceived parental maltreatment and did not with parental support. The cluster analysis identified two clusters of patients. The first (n = 41) showed negative dysfunctional experiences; the second (n = 60) showed a more positive perception of parental support.The impairment of social functioning and emotions regulation are both involved in this complex relation. The study supports the hypothesis of a clustering of patients that needs tailored management of violence causes and consequences.     

Adverse childhood experiences among children placed in and adopted from foster care: Evidence from a nationally representative survey

Despite good reason to believe that children in foster care are disproportionately exposed to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), relatively little research considers exposure to ACEs among this group of vulnerable children. In this article, we use data from the 2011–2012 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH), a nationally representative sample of non-institutionalized children ages 0–17 in the United States, to estimate the association between foster care placement and exposure to an array of ACEs. In adjusted logistic regression models, we find that children placed in foster care or adopted from foster care, compared to their counterparts, were more likely to experience parental divorce or separation, parental death, parental incarceration, parental abuse, violence exposure, household member mental illness, and household member substance abuse. These children were also more likely to experience ACEs than children across different thresholds of socioeconomic disadvantage (e.g., children in households with incomes below the poverty line) and across different family structures (e.g., children in single-mother families). These results advance our understanding of how children in foster care, an already vulnerable population, are disproportionately exposed to ACEs. This exposure, given the link between ACEs and health, may have implications for children’s health and wellbeing throughout the life course.     

Factors associated with re-entry to out-of-home care among children in England

Exiting and re-entering out-of-home care (OHC) is considered a disruption to permanence which may have long-lasting, negative consequences for children due to a lack of stability and continuity. Each year approximately one-third of children in OHC in England exit, but information is lacking on rates of re-entries and associated factors. Using national administrative data, we calculated rates of re-entry among children exiting OHC from 2007 to 2012, identified key child and care factors associated with re-entry using Cox proportional hazards modelling, and developed a simple probability calculator to estimate which groups of children are most likely to re-enter OHC within three months. Between 2007 and 2012 re-entries to OHC in England decreased (from 23.3% to 14.4% within one year of exit, p < 0.001), possibly due to concurrent changes in the way children exited OHC. Overall, more than one-third of children exiting OHC in 2008 re-entered within five years (35.3%, N = 4076), but rates of re-entry varied by child and care characteristics including age, ethnicity, mode of exit, and placement stability. Based on these associated factors, we developed a calculator that can estimate the likelihood of rapid re-entry to OHC for a group of children and could be used by social care practitioners or service planners. Our findings provide insight into which groups of children are most likely to re-enter OHC, who may benefit from additional support or ongoing monitoring.     

Heuristic decision-making in foster care matching: Evidence from a think-aloud study

Complex decisions are often based on heuristics, which are shortcuts or simple ‘rules of thumb’. Since the matching decision in family foster care is often made in a less-than-ideal setting and riddled with uncertainty, heuristics are expected to be applied in that field of child and youth care on a daily basis. However, the use of heuristics in the matching decision has not been studied empirically until now. This research explores how decision-making heuristics are used by practitioners to determine which foster family is the best fit for a child. A number of 20 matching practitioners from the Netherlands were interviewed using vignettes and a ‘think-aloud’ methodology to generate an understanding of their reasoning. Two types of vignettes were created: hypothetical children and hypothetical foster families. The interviews were analyzed using a qualitative deductive content analysis focusing on key indicators of three classes of heuristics: recognition heuristics, one-reason heuristics, and trade-off heuristics. The results show that recognition heuristics did not play a decisive role in the matching process; practitioners considered more than one family before making a final decision. The findings for the one-reason heuristics reveal conjunctive decision-making rules; families were rejected based on one negative premise. The analysis of the trade-off heuristics demonstrates that the number of positive premises and the ratio between positive and negative premises predicted the matching decision. However, the total number of premises also predicted the matching decision, which might indicate confirmation bias.     

Prenatal parental education from the perspective of fathers with experience as primary caregiver immediately following birth: a phenomenographic study

The aim of this phenomenographic study was to capture fathers' conceptions of parental education topics, illuminated by their experiences as primary caregiver of their child immediately following birth. Fifteen fathers were interviewed between 8 days and 6 weeks after the birth of their child. Three categories, five subcategories, and 12 qualitatively different conceptions emerged from the study's findings. The first category showed that parental education emphasizes the importance of normal birth. The second category illustrated that parental education defuses the issue of complicated births. The third category demonstrated that parental education preserves traditional gender roles. The study's results may facilitate efforts to integrate fathers into parental education toward the aim of achieving parity between mother and father in their role as parents.     

Factors associated with successful learning in pupils with dyslexia: a motivational analysis

In 2002, Neil Humphrey and Patricia Mullins published their research into personal constructs and attribution for academic success and failure in dyslexia in BJSE's 'Research Section'. Their work suggested that pupils with dyslexia, in a range of settings, experience real challenges to their self-esteem and that dyslexia leads to 'negative consequences for their self-development'. This article by Robert Burden, Professor of Applied Educational Psychology at the University of Exeter, and Julia Burdett, an experienced teacher and part-time research assistant, challenges those findings.
Robert Burden and Julia Burdett interviewed 50 boys, aged between 11 and 16, attending an independent special school for pupils with dyslexia. The research tools explored the pupils' attitudes to learning and their sense of personal identity. The general levels of depression and 'learned helplessness' revealed were low in sharp contrast to the positive feelings of self-efficacy, locus of control and commitment to effort as an essential learning strategy reported by the pupils. Burden and Burdett explore the consequences of such cognitive self-appraisal for successful learning outcomes in pupils with dyslexia and speculate about the influence of specialist provision upon the positive self-image of the pupils in their study. They state their intention to take their research further with pupils in mainstream settings.     

Engaging foster parents in treatment: A randomized trial of supplementing Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with evidence-based engagement strategies

The goal of this study was to examine the impact of supplementing Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT; Cohen et al., 2006) with evidence-based engagement strategies on foster parent and foster youth engagement in treatment, given challenges engaging foster parents in treatment. A randomized controlled trial of TF-CBT standard delivery compared to TF-CBT plus evidence-based engagement strategies was conducted with 47 children and adolescents in foster care and one of their foster parents. Attendance, engagement, and clinical outcomes were assessed 1 month into treatment, end of treatment, and 3 months post-treatment. Youth and foster parents who received TF-CBT plus evidence-based engagement strategies were more likely to be retained in treatment through four sessions and were less likely to drop out of treatment prematurely. The engagement strategies did not appear to have an effect on the number of canceled or no-show sessions or on treatment satisfaction. Clinical outcomes did not differ by study condition, but exploratory analyses suggest that youth had significant improvements with treatment. Strategies that specifically target engagement may hold promise for increasing access to evidence-based treatments and for increasing likelihood of treatment completion.     

一类具有分段常变量微分方程的全局稳定性(英文)

本文考虑具有分段变量的微分方程这里[·]为取整函数,我们证明了：方程的任意解N（t）收敛于正平衡点N*（t→）的充分条件是N（t）满足初始条件．     

Dependence patterns associated with the fundamental diagram： a copula function approach

Randomness plays a major role in the interpretation of many interesting traffic flow phenomena, such as hysteresis, capacity drop and spontaneous breakdown. The analysis of the uncertainty and reliability of traffic systems is directly associated with their random characteristics. Therefore, it is beneficial to understand the distributional properties of traffic variables. This paper focuses on the dependence relation between traffic flow density and traffic speed, which constitute the fundamental diagram （FD）. The traditional model of the FD is obtained essentially through curve fitting. We use the copula function as the basic toolkit and provide a novel approach for identifying the distributional patterns associated with the FD. In particular, we construct a rule-of-thumb nonparametric copula function, which in general avoids the mis-specification risk of parametric approaches and is more efficient in practice. By applying our construction to loop detector data on a freeway, we identify the dependence patterns existing in traffic data. We find that similar modes exist among traffic states of low, moderate or high traffic densities. Our findings also suggest that highway traffic speed and traffic flow density as a bivariate distribution is skewed and highly heterogeneous.