Child and adolescent anxiety in relation to the type of foster family

Abstract

The aim of the study was to determine whether there are differences in the manifestation of anxiety between children and adolescents in foster families with a long history of foster care and foster families with no experience in foster care. The sample consisted of 87 respondents, 48 from foster families with a long history of foster care and 39 respondents from foster families who have just entered the foster care system. Anxiety levels were examined using the Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS). The results showed statistically significant differences in the manifestation of anxiety between respondents from the two types of foster families. The Kruskal-Wallis test indicated statistically significant differences between respondents from foster families with a long history of foster care compared to respondents from families with no foster care experience in terms of expressing anxiety in all four subtests: a) Psychological Anxiety; b) Worry/ Hypersensitivity c) Social Anxiety and d) lie control subscale. The results of this study indicate that there are significant statistical differences between respondents living in different types of foster families. The conclusion points to the need for planned interventions that would improve the functionality of inexperienced foster families in their multidimensional influence on the development of children and adolescents