Abstract
Similarities and differences in the (short-term) psychosocial development of children in foster care, family-style group care, and residential care were investigated in a sample of 121 Dutch children (M age = 8.78 years; SD = 2.34 years; 47% female; 59% Caucasian) one year after their initial placement. Pretest and posttest measurements were carried out at the substitute caregivers using the CBCL. The results were examined at group level and case level. At group level, the findings showed no evidence for higher effectiveness in favor to the family-oriented settings (foster care, and family-style group care), as hypothesized. By contrast, some small differences were found between foster care and family-style group care, in favor of the latter. At individual level, a more or less equal number of children (18%) with a clinical pretest score on psychosocial functioning clinically significant improved (behavioral normalization). An important concern is that a number of children without clinical psychosocial problems at the time of admission clinically significant deteriorated (behavioral aberration) in psychosocial functioning (20%). This might indicate a poor match between the risks, needs and responsivity of the child on the one hand and the chosen intervention on the other. Future research on factors that (prior and during placement) positively as well as negatively affect the child’s psychosocial development is needed to further clarify this finding.
Highlights
Out-of-home placement is considered to be a good alternative when in-home services insufficiently provides in a safe parenting climate and positive development of the child (Pinto and Maia 2013; Vanschoonlandt et al 2013)
The response rate was calculated by dividing the number of included respondents by the number of respondents examined for eligibility for the posttest (Morton et al 2006; Sitzia and Wood 1998; The American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) 2011)
We investigated the psychosocial development in out-ofhome placed children during the first year of placement using 3 × 2 (Setting × Time) repeated measure (RM) ANOVAs with Sidak tests for multiple comparisons
Summary
Out-of-home placement is considered to be a good alternative when in-home (support) services insufficiently provides in a safe parenting climate and positive development of the child (Pinto and Maia 2013; Vanschoonlandt et al 2013). In case of short-term foster care, the child stays temporarily with a foster family, while the biological parents are supported to improve their family circumstances in preparation for reunification (Strijker et al 2008). When reunification is no option, a foster family provides a stable alternate rearing situation in a family setting until the child reaches the age of 18 (long-term foster care) (Strijker et al 2008). In contrast to the foster care process in the United States, adopting a foster child is very unusual in the Netherlands and other European countries (Holtan et al 2013)
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