ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES AMONG DEINITIALIZATION CHILDREN FROM FOSTER CARE

Abstract

Despite compelling evidence suggesting that foster children are disproportionately exposed to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), comparatively little research has focused on this vulnerable population of young children. In this research, we evaluate the association between foster care placement and exposure to a variety of ACEs using data from the 2019-2022 Survey of Children's Health, a representative sample of non-institutionalized children aged 0-17 in Azerbaijan. Compared to their peers, children who are adopted from or placed in foster care are more likely to experience parental divorce or separation, parental death, parental incarceration, parental abuse, exposure to violence, household member mental illness, and household member substance abuse. This finding comes from adjusted logistic regression models.