Validation of a Measure of Foster Home Integration for Foster Youth

Abstract

Objectives: This article introduces a youth-reported measure (Essential Youth Experiences [EYE]) developed to assess the experiences of foster youth in their home environment and their critical relationships across a number of service systems. Empirically, the article reports on the psychometric properties of a 9-item scale within the EYE that measures the construct of positive home integration (PHI). Methods: The EYE was administered to 328 preadolescent and adolescent youth (164 sibling dyads) enrolled in a larger randomized clinical trial. Results: Correlational analysis suggests that the PHI Scale shows good psychometric properties and strong current and predictive validity. Conclusion: The PHI is a reliable and valid scale that measures youth perspectives of inclusion in the foster home and relationships with their foster care provider. This scale quickly gathers youth perspectives and differentiates between youth who have more versus less significant needs. Implications for research and social work practice are discussed.

Foster care placement change: The role of family dynamics and household composition

“…In instances in which sibling groups of four youth were enrolled, the entire sibling group was randomized to either the treatment or control condition. Findings suggest that this program was delivered with a high degree of fidelity, feasible and well-liked by foster youth (Kothari et al, 2014) and sibling relationship quality improved for those in the intervention group (Kothari, McBeath, Bank, et al, under review; Kothari, McBeath, Sorenson, et al, under review). The SIBS-FC study utilized a multiple method, multiple indicator data collection and measurement strategy (Chamberlain & Bank, 1989).…”

“…Positive home integration was measured using a 9 item indicator (n=312, ∝ = .86, extracted from the Essential Youth Experiences measure (Kothari, McBeath, Bank, et al, under review; Kothari, McBeath, Sorenson, et al, under review). Each item was rated on a 10-point response scale, with 1 representing never/not at all, 5 representing sometimes, and 10 representing always/a lot.…”

“…The sibling relationship construct score (Kothari, McBeath, Bank, et al, under review; Kothari, McBeath, Sorenson, et al, under review) is a seven item indicator gathered from four reporting sources; two items were gathered from the youth, one from the primary foster parent, two from the study assessor, and two from the study coder (n = 312, α = 0.75). All item responses were coded so that larger values were positive, and all responses were transformed into z-scores before the development of the construct.…”

“…Sibling dyads enrolled in this study were yoked by race and randomly assigned to either the sibling intervention or control condition (Kothari et al, 2014; Kothari, McBeath, Bank, et al, under review; Kothari, McBeath, Sorenson, et al, under review). The treatment condition was represented as a binary variable, with 0 representing the control condition and 1 representing the treatment condition.…”

Network indicators of the social ecology of adolescents in relative and non-relative Foster households

“…The Essential Youth Experiences (EYE) measure (Kothari et al, 2016) captured youth perceptions of the presence, contact frequency, and quality of their relationships with biological parents, foster caregivers, and the younger sibling in the study. Youth also reported on family members (e.g., biological relatives, step-relatives, adoptive relatives, or otherwise-related) they lived with or were in contact with (at least a few times a year), as well as any non-relatives in the foster home.…”