Variability in Developmental Outcomes of Foster Children: Implications for Research and Practice

Goemans, Anouk; Geel, Mitch van; Vedder, Paul

doi:10.1017/cha.2018.19

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…Both measures were developed in Australia within a large looked after children population to assess the frequency and severity of emotional and behavioural difficulties theoretically underpinned by a developmental trauma framework. The measures have since been validated in a Dutch population (Goemans, et al., 2018) and have been used in several studies of looked after and adopted children (DeJong, Hodges and Malik, 2016; Goemans, van Geel and Vedder, 2018).…”

Section: The Role Of Psychometric Measures In Looked After Childrenmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘They don’t meet the stereotypes in the boxes…’: Foster carers’ and clinicians’ views on the utility of psychometric tools in the mental health assessment of looked after children

Frogley

John

Denton

et al. 2019

Adoption & Fostering

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Background: Looked-after children (LAC) frequently experience greater mental health challenges than the general child population. There has been a call for greater focus on early preventative interventions and priority access to specialist mental health support for this population. Brief mental health screening tools often provide the gateway to services and yet there is a lack of suitable assessment tools available for LAC. The current study is the first to explore the perspectives of foster carers and CAMHS clinicians' in relation to the use of two brief screening tools; the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and the Brief Assessment Checklists (BAC's). Method: Qualitative data was collected via semi-structured telephone interviews and face-toface focus groups with female foster carers (N=13) and clinicians working in a CAMHS setting (N=9). Results: Thematic analyses generated six themes which were organised into three superordinate themes centred around: 1) relevance to LAC, 2) using measures to inform care planning and; 3) current problems when using psychometric measures within the LAC population. Foster carers and clinicians emphasised the need for a comprehensive understanding of LAC given the complexity of their difficulties. There was acknowledgement that psychometric measures could facilitate and contribute to this by highlighting difficulties, providing accurate feedback to carers and clinicians, and enabling access to support. However, both groups seldom felt that current measures were nuanced enough to adequately capture the needs of LAC. Conclusion: Screening tools play a crucial role in identifying the mental health needs of LAC and facilitating access to services. Further research is needed to establish the ability of such measures to increase the sensitivity of the complex needs' assessment of LAC. A number of 'They don't meet the stereotypes in the boxes…' Accepted for publication in Adoption and Fostering March, 2019 3 clinical recommendations are also discussed in relation to the assessment of mental health in the LAC population. Keywords: looked after children, mental health, assessment, qualitative methods 'They don't meet the stereotypes in the boxes…' Accepted for publication in Adoption and Fostering March, 2019 meta-analysis which included studies from five different Western countries (Bronsard et al., 2016). LAC and care leavers are also at higher risk of self-harm as well as both attempted and completed suicide (Hjern, Vinnerljung & Lindblad, 2004; Vinnerljung, Hjern & Lindblad, 2006). Alongside this, several studies have highlighted the long-term impact that early life trauma (e.g. maltreatment) has on brain development, physical well-being and mental health (D'Andrea, Ford, Stolbach, Spinazzola & van der Kolk, 2012). Research has demonstrated that children who have been exposed to maltreatment are at greater risk for complex mental health presentations often spanning several diagnostic criteria (D'Andrea et al, 2012). In the 'They don't meet the stereotypes in the boxes…'...

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Section: The Role Of Psychometric Measures In Looked After Childrenmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘They don’t meet the stereotypes in the boxes…’: Foster carers’ and clinicians’ views on the utility of psychometric tools in the mental health assessment of looked after children

Frogley

John

Denton

et al. 2019

Adoption & Fostering

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“…This agenda may have been fuelled by social work practice being criticised for underrating the value of research and not integrating research into practice which is documented in other countries (Erbay, 2017; Trocmé et al., 2016). There is also a recognition that gaps exist in child welfare systems to promote a strong research culture (Goemans et al., 2018). Practitioner–researchers, such as the practitioner-doctoral candidates, are viewed as being ideally located to undertake such social work research (Goemans et al., 2018; Trocmé et al., 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is also a recognition that gaps exist in child welfare systems to promote a strong research culture (Goemans et al., 2018). Practitioner–researchers, such as the practitioner-doctoral candidates, are viewed as being ideally located to undertake such social work research (Goemans et al., 2018; Trocmé et al., 2016). Negotiating relationships is central to social work practice, a comfortable and familiar space for practitioners.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reflections on navigating the PhD journey as a social work practitioner

Lotty

2020

Qualitative Social Work

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Practitioners who undertake PhDs find themselves in a unique research position. They have a dual role of being a researcher, a doctoral candidate and also a practitioner. This paper describes my reflections on the journey of doing a PhD as an experienced social work practitioner. First, I describe my study which designed, developed and evaluated a psychoeducational intervention for foster carers in Ireland. Then, I discuss my reflections on my position in the research and how I theoretically framed my study in a pragmatist approach. I discuss the challenges I experienced as a practitioner and doctoral candidate. I conclude that my position as a practitioner and doctoral candidate was likely to have enhanced my research and the contribution it has made to social work practice.

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“…Children in foster care are a remarkably heterogeneous group, in part due to their variable experiences of adversity previously to their entry into care and how key psychological mechanisms are affected by these experiences (Goemans, van Geel, & Vedder, 2018). A fruitful avenue for research is to focus on those psychological mechanisms that may partially explain poor adjustment in this population, or, conversely, may foster resilience (Rutter, 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential associations of threat and deprivation with emotion understanding in maltreated children in foster care

Carrera

Morago

Román

et al. 2020

Child & Family Social Work

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Children in foster care are a remarkably heterogeneous group regarding their adaptation, and disrupted emotion understanding is one of the processes that may lead to differential outcomes in them. Previous research has found different effects for abused and for neglected children in emotion recognition. However, very few studies have analysed more complex forms of emotion understanding in maltreated children while considering different adversity dimensions. The present study analysed associations between threat and deprivation exposure and different facets of emotion understanding in a sample of maltreated children in foster care. The sample comprised 51 children from 4 to 9 years old (M = 7.07, SD = 1.63) in nonkin foster care in Spain. We used the Test of Emotional Comprehension to measure emotion understanding and maltreatment reports to measure exposure to threat and deprivation. Threat exposure predicted enhanced external emotion understanding after controlling for age, vocabulary, and deprivation, particularly understanding emotions based on desires. Deprivation predicted worse external emotion understanding. Our findings reinforce the limits of cumulative risks models for understanding foster children's developmental outcomes and the value of assessing separately adversity dimensions when possible, given the variable relations of threat and deprivation exposure with social cognitive development.

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Variability in Developmental Outcomes of Foster Children: Implications for Research and Practice

Cited by 9 publications

References 66 publications

‘They don’t meet the stereotypes in the boxes…’: Foster carers’ and clinicians’ views on the utility of psychometric tools in the mental health assessment of looked after children

‘They don’t meet the stereotypes in the boxes…’: Foster carers’ and clinicians’ views on the utility of psychometric tools in the mental health assessment of looked after children

Reflections on navigating the PhD journey as a social work practitioner

Differential associations of threat and deprivation with emotion understanding in maltreated children in foster care

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