The Influence of Caregiver Depression on Children in Non-relative Foster Care Versus Kinship Care Placements

Abstract

Little is known about how the challenges faced by caregivers influence the variation in social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) outcomes of youth placed in kinship versus non-relative foster care. This study examined SEB symptoms among youth in kinship and non-relative foster care settings, hypothesizing that changes in caregiver depression would modify children's change in behavior over time. Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) assessments of 199 children placed with kinship and non-relative foster care providers in a Mid-Atlantic city were conducted at time of placement and 6-12 months post-placement. Linear regression estimated CBCL change scores for youth across placement type and caregiver depression trajectories. Kinship caregivers were more likely to become depressed or remained depressed than non-relative foster caregivers. Youth in kinship care always exhibited better change in SEB outcomes than youth in non-relative foster care, but these positive outcomes were principally observed among families where caregivers demonstrated a reduction in depression over time or were never depressed. Adjusted change scores for non-relative foster care youth were always negative, with the most negative scores among youth whose caregivers became depressed over time. Caregiver well-being may modify the influence of placement setting on SEB outcomes for youth placed into out-of-home care. Findings lend to policy relevance for child welfare systems that seek kinship settings as a panacea to the challenges faced by youth, without allocating resources to address caregiver needs.

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Poor Mental Health Outcomes Among Racially Diverse Foster Care Alumni: Impact of Perceived Agency Helpfulness

“…In a recent study, Heneghan et al (2013) found that youth age 12-17.5 years who were investigated for maltreatment are more than twice as likely to report anxiety when their caregivers report depression than when their caregivers do not endorse depressive symptomatology. These conclusions, coupled with our findings, suggest that to prevent poor mental health outcomes among foster care alumni, child welfare and other public youth serving systems of care must prioritize policies and practices that address the mental health needs of caregivers (Garcia et al 2014). …”

Operation family caregiver: Problem‐solving training for military caregivers in a community setting

“…The possible negative effect of caregiving on the psychological health of children raises concerns and requires more attention. Studies have shown that positive or negative changes in a caregiver's child's depression can have corresponding effects in the social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes (Garcia et al., ). And although our results approached significance on the whole, the relative weakness compared to other outcomes deserves further exploration.…”

Stress in Caregivers and Children with a Developmental Disorder Who Receive Rehabilitation

“…It may be a stress burden for caregivers and children to start rehabilitation too early. The benefit of early rehabilitation interventions for preterm infants has been emphasized recently [ 48 ]. The expected outcome of a developmental care intervention is improvement in overall physical, social, cognitive, and emotional development.…”