Foster Family Characteristics and Behavioral and Emotional Problems of Foster Children: A Narrative Review^*

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to review the literature on the foster family characteristics that are thought to contribute to the behavioral and emotional problems of foster children. The review is shaped by an understanding of the personal and familial factors associated with children's problem behaviors in the general population. These factors include parenting, the family home environment, family functioning, marital functioning, family demography, child temperament, parents' mental health, and social support. Limitations within the existing research on these foster family characteristics are noted, and suggestions for future research are provided.

Caregiver commitment to foster children: The role of child behavior

“…Several studies have examined the effects of foster family characteristics on foster children's behavioral and emotional functioning (see Orme & Buehler, 2001 for a review). Characteristics that have been investigated include parenting variables, the home environment, demographic variables, caregiver mental health, and social support.…”

Maternal Characteristics and Child Problem Behaviors: A Comparison of Foster and Biological Mothers

“…One parental practice of foster parents that is of concern for Child Welfare Bureaus and has been disproportionately studied, as compared with other parental practices, is discipline practices (Orme & Buehler, 2001). As found in non-foster parent samples (Brenner & Fox, 1998;Nicholson et al, 2005), foster parents' endorsement of harsh disciplinary practices to a hypothetical child behavior situation was related to more aggressive social responses of the foster child to social vignettes (Tripp De Robertis & Litrownik, 2004).…”

“…Little is known about the parenting practices of foster parents and their foster children, except perhaps in the domain of discipline practices (Orme & Buehler, 2001). This is particularly alarming, considering the large number of children placed in foster care (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2006) and considering the important role the foster family plays in the foster child's socialization and development.…”

“…In a review by Orme and Buehler (2001) on foster family characteristics, they found that foster mothers had more negative attitudes toward child-rearing than a normative population and higher levels of stress owing to difficult child behavior. Additionally, they found that approximately 15% of foster parents were at risk for utilizing poor parenting practices.…”

Looking Back on the Long-Term Fostering and Adoption of Children with Harmful Sexual Behaviours: Carers' Reflections on Their Experiences

“…Research has been undertaken into the motivations and characteristics of foster parents (Dando and Minty, 1987;Orme and Buehler, 2001), the role of men in substitute care (Gilligan, 2000;Newstone, 2000), the challenges and strains of substitute caring (Dozier, 2005;Farmer, 2005;Murray et al, 2011), the importance of caregiver commitment to offering an enduring relationship with a child or young person and a 4 secure base (Schofield 2002;Harden, 2004;Holland et al, 2005;Schofield andBeek, 2005a and2005b;Dozier and Lindhiem, 2006) and factors that influence the success or otherwise of placements, for example, contact with birth family members (Moyers et al, 2006).…”