Cover Page The handle http://hdl.handle.net/1887/51103

Cover Page

The handle http://hdl.handle.net/1887/51103 holds various files of this Leiden University dissertation

Author: Goemans, A.

Title: The development of children in foster care Issue Date: 2017-06-27

Anouk Goemans

Cover design: M.O. Goemans Printed by: proefschrift-aio.nl

All rights reserved. No parts of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanically, by photocopy, or otherwise, without the permission from the author.

Proefschrift ter verkrijging van

de graad van Doctor aan de Universiteit Leiden, RSJH]DJYDQ5HFWRU0DJQLÀFXVSURIPU&--06WRONHU

volgens besluit College voor Promoties te verdedigen op dinsdag 27 juni 2017

klokke 10.00 uur door Anouk Goemans geboren te Haarlemmermeer

in 1988

Prof. Dr. P.H. Vedder Co-promotor:

Dr. M. van Geel Promotiecommissie:

Prof. Dr. C.A. Espin Prof. Dr. L.R.A. Alink

3URI'U*-2YHUEHHN8QLYHUVLWHLWYDQ$PVWHUGDP 3URI'U-9DQGHUIDHLOOLH9ULMH8QLYHUVLWHLW%UXVVHO

5

Chapter 1 General Introduction 7

Chapter 2 Developmental outcomes of foster children: A meta-analytic comparison with children from the general population and children at risk who remained at home

21

Chapter 3 Over three decades of longitudinal research on the development of foster children: A meta-analysis

55

Chapter 4 Psychosocial functioning in Dutch foster children: The relationship with child, family, and placement characteristics

79

Chapter 5 Foster children’s psychosocial development and foster parents’

stress: Testing a transactional model

103

Chapter 6 Predictors of school engagement in foster children: A longitudinal study

125

Chapter 7 Psychosocial screening and monitoring for children in foster care:

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147

Chapter 8 General Discussion 165

6XPPDU\ 177

6DPHQYDWWLQJ 183

References 189

Dankwoord 223

Curriculum Vitae 227

List of Publications 231

$SSHQGL[%$&&DQG%$&$ 235

6

7

1

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

8

1

9

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Foster care is a form of child welfare wherein a child who cannot be raised by his or her own parents, is placed out-of-home and is raised by alternative caregivers. This dissertation VSHFLÀFDOO\IRFXVHVRQfamily foster care, wherein a child lives in a foster family with one or two foster parents. Although decisions with respect to out-of-home-placement cannot always be PDGHXQHTXLYRFDOO\%ULWQHU 0RVVOHU-RQHV/LQGVH\IDPLO\IRVWHUFDUH

from now on referred to as foster care, is considered to be the best alternative in case of out- of-home placement (Dozier et al., 2014). Foster care most closely resembles the natural home environment of a child, providing stability and continuity of caregivers and the opportunity WREXLOGFORVHUHODWLRQVKLSVZLWKVXEVWLWXWHSDUHQWÀJXUHV5R\5XWWHU 3LFNOHV7L]DUG

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1999), and may culminate into prematurely ended placements, i.e., breakdown (Minty, 1999).

In addition, many studies show worrying results with respect to the developmental outcomes RI FKLOGUHQ LQ IRVWHU FDUH /DZUHQFH &DUOVRQ  (JHODQG  /OR\G  %DUWK 

Developmental outcomes here refer to foster children’s outcomes in cognitive, social-emotional, and behavioral functioning as well as academic achievement. However, the development of foster children is not necessarily problematic, and likely depends on several characteristics associated with the foster child, the foster parents, and the foster placement (Van Oijen, 2010).

This dissertation analyzes the development of children in foster care, and examines which characteristics are associated with foster children’s development.

Development of Children in Foster Care

Children who are placed in foster care are a heterogeneous group and come from families with different characteristics and backgrounds. Foster children’s backgrounds and pre-placement experiences are likely to be related to their developmental outcomes at the VWDUWRIWKHSODFHPHQWLQIRVWHUFDUH6FKROWHDVZHOODVODWHUZKLOHLQIRVWHUFDUH0DQ\

children who are placed in foster care come from families characterized by environments that could pose a threat to their development (e.g., low socioeconomic status, low levels of social support, suboptimal parenting) and foster children have often experienced childhood adversity. Moreover, broken attachment due to the separation from their biological parents and the adjustment to a new family and living situation confronts foster children with additional FKDOOHQJHV .LQDUG  6HYHUDO VWXGLHV KDYH VKRZQ WKDW PDQ\ IRVWHU FKLOGUHQ KDYH

developmental problems upon entering foster care (Clausen, Landsverk, Ganger, Chadwick,  /LWURZQLN  -DPHV  6LPPV 'XERZLW]  6]LODJ\L  =RUF HW DO 

and although not many studies control for pre-placement adversities, it is assumed that foster children’s backgrounds are likely to have an impact on foster children’s development (Turney :LOGHPDQ:DOG&DUOVPLWK /HLGHUPDQ2QFHLQIRVWHUFDUHRQHZRXOG

hope that the safe and stimulating home environment that most foster families offer helps

10

foster children to recover from their past experiences. However, many foster children continue WRH[SHULHQFHGHYHORSPHQWDOGLIÀFXOWLHVGXULQJIRVWHUFDUH)RVWHUFKLOGUHQ·VGHYHORSPHQWLV

often characterized by clinical levels of internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors 0DDVNDQW9DQ5RRLM +HUPDQQVDGDSWDWLRQSUREOHPV%HUNRII/HVOLH 6WDKPHU

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Although most research presents a gloomy picture of the development of children LQIRVWHUFDUHUHVXOWVKDYHQRWEHHQFRQFOXVLYH6RPHVWXGLHVVKRZWKDWIRVWHUFDUHLPSURYHV

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characteristics associated with the foster child, the foster family, and the foster placement (Van Oijen, 2010). It has, for example, been suggested that the age of out-of-home placement 0LQW\IRVWHUFKLOGUHQ·VSODFHPHQWKLVWRU\1HZWRQ/LWURZQLN /DQGVYHUNWKH

W\SHRIIRVWHUIDPLO\:LQRNXU+ROWDQ %DWFKHOGHUDQGDGGLWLRQDOVXSSRUWVHUYLFHV

(Chamberlain et al., 2008) are related to foster children’s developmental outcomes. However, much remains unclear about the effects of foster care. To date there are no overview studies on foster children’s development and it is not known what works for which foster child. The wide range of outcomes leads to the question which conditions for foster care are most conducive for IRVWHUFKLOGUHQ·VSRVLWLYHGHYHORSPHQW7ZRLPSRUWDQWZD\VWRÀQGDQVZHUVWRWKLVTXHVWLRQDUH

meta-analysis and longitudinal research.

Meta-analysis

Meta-analysis is a statistical method for deriving at a systematic, quantitative RYHUYLHZRIHPSLULFDOVFLHQWLÀFOLWHUDWXUH0HWDDQDO\VLVDOORZVIRUWKHFRPELQDWLRQRIUHVXOWV

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as on the development of children in foster care that are characterized by a wide variety of VRPHWLPHVFRQÁLFWLQJÀQGLQJVIURPGLIIHUHQWVWXGLHVZKLFKKDPSHUVJHWWLQJDFRUUHFWRYHUYLHZ

of the domain. An important incremental value of meta-analysis is that a more reliable overall HIIHFWVL]HLVREWDLQHGWKDQLVDYDLODEOHIURPWKHLQGLYLGXDOVWXGLHV%RUHQVWHLQHWDO

Cooper et al., 2009). It is particularly helpful in a domain like foster care characterized by VPDOO VWXGLHV ZLWK SRVVLEO\ ELDVHG VDPSOHV -DFNVRQ *DEULHOOL 7XQQR  +DPEULFN 

Meta-analysis provides a means for combining the results of studies, by analyzing the overall HIIHFW VL]H DV ZHOO DV WKH YDULDQFH RI HIIHFW VL]HV DFURVV VWXGLHV +XHGR0HGLQD 6iQFKH]

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the fact that meta-analysis does not only include published studies in peer-reviewed journals, EXWDOVRLQFOXGHVVRFDOOHG¶JUH\OLWHUDWXUH·&RQQ9DOHQWLQH&RRSHU 5DQW]*UH\

literature concerns unpublished studies, books, dissertations, and studies published outside widely available journals (Conn et al., 2003). In addition to providing a statistical summary and including grey literature, meta-analysis also allows the analysis of publication bias (Rothstein, 6XWWRQ %RUHQVWHLQ6SHFWRU 7KRPSVRQ3XEOLFDWLRQELDVPD\RFFXUEHFDXVH

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better accessibility of studies with larger effect sizes may erroneously lead to the assumption that effects are larger than they actually are (Rothstein et al., 2006). To assess publication ELDVDUDQJHRIPHWKRGVFDQEHXVHGVXFKDVWKH'XYDOODQG7ZHHGLH·VWULPDQGÀOOSURFHGXUH

'XYDO 7ZHHGLHWKH.HQGDOO·V7DXPHWKRGDQG)DLOVDIHN analyses (Cooper et al.,

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which extent publication bias affects an overall effect size and, if needed, an adjusted overall effect size can be estimated (Rothstein et al., 2006).

To provide a better insight into the conditions that are related to the overall effect size, meta-analysis offers several possibilities. One of them is to analyze the effect of moderators.

Moderator analysis is of interest for research on foster children because there have been different results between studies. It is not yet known how to explain these partly contradictory ÀQGLQJVEXWGLIIHUHQFHVLQVWXG\GHVLJQVFKDUDFWHULVWLFVRISDUWLFLSDQWVDQGFKLOGFDUHV\VWHPV

could play a role. Moderator analysis allows to study whether, for instance, methodological GLIIHUHQFHVLQGHVLJQVHJVDPSOHVL]HDWWULWLRQLQORQJLWXGLQDOVWXGLHVRUIRVWHUFDUHVSHFLÀF

characteristics (e.g., age of the foster child, length of the foster placement) are related to foster children’s development. Another option for examining which conditions are related to WKHRYHUDOOHIIHFWVL]HLVDVHQVLWLYLW\DQDO\VLV6HQVLWLYLW\DQDO\VHVDUHSHUIRUPHGWRDVVHVVDQG

compare the robustness of the results for different types of studies or for studies using different LQFOXVLRQFULWHULD(JJHU6PLWK 3KLOOLSV6SHFWRU 7KRPSVRQ6HQVLWLYLW\DQDO\VLV

allows, for example, to examine whether the results of studies that meet certain criteria (e.g., studies that are published in peer-reviewed journals, had adequate sample sizes, made use RI YDOLGDWHG LQVWUXPHQWV DQG LQFOXGHG FRYDULDWHV GLIIHU IURP WKH RYHUDOO ÀQGLQJV RI WKH

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useful approach, because of the challenges to perform research on foster children. Feasibility limitations of individual studies, e.g., those linked to the need to have consent of foster as well DVELRORJLFDOSDUHQWVRUWRÀQGIRVWHUFDUHRUJDQL]DWLRQVZLOOLQJWRSURYLGHDFFHVVWRIRVWHU

families, may easily lead to methodological limitations, e.g., with respect to the number of variables and measures that can be included and the methods used for data collection, and sensitivity analysis allows to partly control for this.

Longitudinal Research

The second approach used in this dissertation to gain insight in the development of children in foster care is longitudinal research. Longitudinal research is an empirical approach WRÀOOWKHNQRZOHGJHJDSVZLWKUHVSHFWWRFKDQJHRYHUWLPHLQDSDUWLFXODUSKHQRPHQRQRU

phenomena. In this case we refer to this change as development and the phenomenon is FKLOGUHQ LQ IRVWHU FDUH +HDWK &ROWRQ  $OGJDWH  0F:H\ &XL  3D]GHUD 

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2013). These studies provide a snapshot of foster children’s functioning and as such provide an important stepping stone for understanding the lives and development of foster children and IRVWHUSDUHQWV&URVVVHFWLRQDOVWXGLHVFDQHVWDEOLVKIRVWHUFKLOGUHQ·VIXQFWLRQLQJDWDVSHFLÀF

point in time and examine which characteristics or circumstances are correlated with particular

12

outcomes. However, cross-sectional studies cannot establish change and predictors for change, and are therefore unable to capture the risk and protective factors that precede foster children’s outcomes at a later time point. Longitudinal research is needed to more fully understand the developmental trajectories of foster children and to gain insight in the characteristics or factors that predict their developmental outcomes.

The results of previous longitudinal studies have not been conclusive with respect to the developmental pathways of foster children. Furthermore, past longitudinal research did not always focus on a broad range of predictors in relation to foster children’s development, while including a broad range of predictors in a multivariate model could possibly help WKH LGHQWLÀFDWLRQ RI WKH PRVW DSSDUHQW SUHGLFWRUV RI WKH GHYHORSPHQW RI FKLOGUHQ LQ IRVWHU

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interest in relation to foster children’s development are child characteristics (e.g., age, gender, placement history, duration of the placement), foster family characteristics (e.g., type of foster family, family composition, biological children of foster parents, siblings of the foster child, foster parents’ thinking about quitting foster care), and foster placement characteristics (e.g., OHJDOIUDPHZRUNSODQQLQJIRUUHXQLÀFDWLRQLQWHUYHQWLRQDLPHGDWIRVWHUSDUHQWVLQWHUYHQWLRQV

aimed at foster children, parental visiting). There is a further need for longitudinal studies that do not only look at the general developmental trends or focus on the development of foster children as related to a single predictor, but focus on a broader range of predictors (Van 2LMHQ:HFRQGXFWHGVXFKDORQJLWXGLQDOVWXG\DQGUHSRUWLWLQWKLVGLVVHUWDWLRQ

An aspect that has not been covered by previous longitudinal studies concerns the bidirectional relations between foster children’s development and child, family, and placement characteristics (Van Oijen, 2010). Previous longitudinal studies often exclusively focused on FKLOGWRSDUHQWHIIHFWV+XUOEXUW&KDPEHUODLQ'H*DUPR=KDQJ 3ULFH9DQGHUIDHLOOLH

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unidirectional effects from foster children to their foster parents, it is generally emphasized WKDWWKHUHODWLRQVKLSVEHWZHHQSDUHQWLQJDQGFKLOGGHYHORSPHQWDUHELGLUHFWLRQDO%RUQVWHLQ

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process by which different systems in the ecology of children’s education and development, HJ DV VSHFLÀHG LQ %URQIHQEUHQQHU·V HFRORJLFDO PRGHO %URQIHQEUHQQHU  (YDQV  LQÁXHQFHHDFKRWKHUWKURXJKRXWGHYHORSPHQW&HQWUDOWRWKHWUDQVDFWLRQDOPRGHOLVWKHDQDO\WLF

emphasis placed on the bidirectional, interdependent effects of the child and the environment.

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changes are, for instance, changes in living environment, changes in parenting styles, changes of youth care workers, or change of school. This dissertation analyzes the development of IRVWHUFKLOGUHQLQDWUDQVDFWLRQDOSHUVSHFWLYH:HZHUHVSHFLÀFDOO\LQWHUHVWHGLQWKHWUDQVDFWLRQ

1

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between foster parents’ stress and foster children’s behavior problems, because this transaction might have important consequences for foster placement breakdown and the development of FKLOGUHQLQIRVWHUFDUH%URZQ %HGQDU)DUPHU/LSVFRPEH 0R\HUV3UHYLRXV

studies, most of them with a cross-sectional design, have examined either unidirectional effects IURPIRVWHUSDUHQWV·VWUHVVWRIRVWHUFKLOGUHQ·VEHKDYLRUSUREOHPV.HOOH\:KLWOH\ &DPSRV

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dissertation tries to account for dynamic processes between foster children and their foster parents, and to examine the direction, strength, causality, or reciprocity of this dynamic process.

Insight in the transactional relations between foster parents and foster children might inform choices whether interventions and additional support should be aimed at foster children, foster parents, or both.

Screening and Monitoring

The previous sections highlighted the two approaches, i.e., meta-analysis and ORQJLWXGLQDOUHVHDUFKWKDWZHUHXVHGWRZRUNWRZDUGWKHJOREDODLPRIWKLVGLVVHUWDWLRQZKLFK

is analyze the development of children in foster care, and examine which characteristics are associated with foster children’s development. Obtaining clear notions of foster children’s development is not only relevant for the academic purpose of writing a thesis, but also for the quality of foster care itself, because it is a precondition to offering support that is adapted to the needs of foster children and foster families. To provide better insight in foster children’s development, it is important to capture their development with screening and monitoring LQVWUXPHQWV WKDW KDYH JRRG SV\FKRPHWULF SURSHUWLHV 6FUHHQLQJ DQG PRQLWRULQJ RI IRVWHU

children’s development, especially their psychosocial development, has increasingly received DWWHQWLRQRIVFKRODUVVLQFHWKHEHJLQQLQJRIWKHVWFHQWXU\*DUZRRG &ORVH/HVOLH

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screening of developmental problems is important. This insight has already been conveyed in recommendations and statements with respect to foster care policy and practice (e.g., American

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Goodman, 1997), a measure we also used in our longitudinal study, is frequently used as a child mental health screening measure in the Netherlands and elsewhere, both for children in the general population and for vulnerable populations such as children in foster care.

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14

Foster Care in the Netherlands

The longitudinal study described in this dissertation is performed in the Dutch foster care context. Most previous studies on foster care, also many of the longitudinal ones, have been FRQGXFWHGRXWVLGHWKH1HWKHUODQGVPRVWO\LQWKH86$5HVHDUFKÀQGLQJVIURPRWKHUFRXQWULHV

however, cannot be easily generalized to the Netherlands, because of the differences in the child welfare systems (Punselie, 2006). In the Netherlands, foster care formally exists since the EHJLQQLQJRIWKHWZHQWLHWKFHQWXU\%DVWLDHQVHQ .UDPHU:LWKWKHLQWURGXFWLRQRIWKH

‘Kinderwetten’ (‘Laws for Children’) in 1901, laws for child protection enabled the government to restrict parental authority and, in extreme cases, to place the child out of home in settings OLNHIRVWHUFDUHRUJURXSKRPHV'XULQJWKHÀUVWKDOIRIWKHWZHQWLHWKFHQWXU\IRVWHUSODFHPHQWV

had a permanent nature. Once children were in foster care, no efforts were made toward reunifying the child with its family of origin. In the second half of the twentieth century, the belief that children were supposed to grow up with and to be cared for by their own parents gained support and foster care became more often a temporary intervention. Parallel to this was a growing attention and support for the view that foster care should be preferred over other out-of-home settings like group care. If parents were not able to care for their RZQFKLOGIRVWHUSODFHPHQWZDVEHOLHYHGWREHWKHEHVWDOWHUQDWLYH%DVWLDHQVHQ .UDPHU

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Nowadays, over 21,000 children at a given moment during a year experience foster care in the Netherlands, and this number has doubled in just over ten years (Pleegzorg 1HGHUODQG6LPLODUWRRWKHUFRXQWULHVYDULRXVIRUPVRIIRVWHUFDUHFDQEHGLVWLQJXLVKHG

kinship or non-kinship, regular or therapeutic, voluntary or enforced. An important difference EHWZHHQWKH'XWFKIRVWHUFDUHV\VWHPDQGWKDWRIWKH8QLWHG6WDWHVLVWKDWIRVWHUFDUHLQWKH

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their foster children but adoption from foster care almost never happens in the Netherlands.

In short-term foster care, foster care is seen as a temporary alternative and is aimed at the improvement of the situation in the family of origin in order to reunify the foster child with its own parents. Children can remain in long-term foster care for longer periods of time or even until the child reaches the age of 18 (i.e., the age that children are considered adults). The aim of this type of foster care is to create continuity, stability, security, and the best developmental opportunities for the foster child in the foster family. The difference between adoption from FDUH DQG ORQJWHUP IRVWHU FDUH LV WKDW WKH ODWWHU LV OHVV GHÀQLWH WKDQ DGRSWLRQ IURP FDUH

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Moreover, although Dutch parents lose their parental authority in long-term foster care, they are still required to pay a share of the costs involved in feeding, clothing and educating their child.

1

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As is true for foster care in other countries, foster care in the Netherlands presents VHYHUDOFKDOOHQJHVDQGRSSRUWXQLWLHV:LWKUHVSHFWWRWKHFKDOOHQJHVSUHYLRXVVWXGLHVRQ'XWFK

foster children have for example shown that many foster children come from problematic EDFNJURXQGV 6WULMNHU  .QRUWK  DQG H[SHULHQFH EHKDYLRU SUREOHPV RU EUHDNGRZQ

during the foster placement (Van Oijen, 2010). In addition, caring for foster children can be stressful and consequently foster parents consider quitting fostering or actually quit (Van den

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at several issues that deserve further attention. There is, for example, a shortage of foster families which makes that several foster children are on the waiting list to be placed in a foster IDPLO\7KLVVDPHVKRUWDJHRIIRVWHUIDPLO\DOVRUHVXOWVLQGLIÀFXOWLHVZLWKUHVSHFWWRPDWFKLQJ

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is the increased number of older children and children with more complex developmental problems that come into foster care, which might have to do with the implementation of the QHZ<RXWK$FWLQZKLFKSUHIHUVSODFHPHQWVLQIRVWHUFDUHRYHUSODFHPHQWLQJURXSFDUH

(Pleegzorg Nederland, 2015). Moreover, partly driven by research on foster care in the 1HWKHUODQGVWKHUHFHQWO\GHYHORSHGJXLGHOLQHVIRUIRVWHUFDUH'H%DDWHWDODVZHOO

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tools are provided for foster care professionals, which can be considered an opportunity to further develop foster care and improve its quality. Recommendations as listed in the Dutch JXLGHOLQHVIRUIRVWHUFDUH'H%DDWHWDODUHDPRQJRWKHUVWRVFUHHQDQGPRQLWRU

foster children’s development, to support the process of permanency planning, and to reduce the number of placements and prevent breakdowns. Next to providing a general overview of foster children’s development, this dissertation tries to connect with the current challenges and opportunities in the Dutch foster care system. Our longitudinal study aims to get an overview of the characteristics that matter most with respect to the development of children in foster care. This knowledge can provide anchors for support services and interventions supporting positive and preventing negative developmental outcomes in foster children. In addition, this GLVVHUWDWLRQFRYHUVWKHWRSLFRIVFUHHQLQJDQGPRQLWRULQJ:HZLOOYDOLGDWHDQH[LVWLQJPHDVXUH

to screen and monitor foster children’s development and offer recommendations for screening and monitoring practices in foster care.

Research on Foster Care in the Netherlands

As described above there is a number of challenges and opportunities, and researchers try to address them in their studies. Dutch researchers have recently studied a broad range of GLIIHUHQWWRSLFVVXFKDVWUHDWPHQWIRVWHUFDUH-RQNPDQHWDOIRVWHUSDUHQWWUDLQLQJ

programs and placement breakdown (Maaskant et al., 2016), permanency planning (Vedder, 9HHQVWUD *RHPDQV  9DQ *HHO  FRPSDULVRQ RI RXWRIKRPH SODFHPHQW RSWLRQV

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which factors are related to longitudinal developmental outcomes of foster children. The longitudinal study described in this dissertation adds to the previous ones because we focused on foster children of all ages, followed them for at least one year while they were with their foster family, and included a broad range of factors that could possibly be related to foster children’s developmental outcomes, such as the previously mentioned foster child, foster family, DQGIRVWHUSODFHPHQWFKDUDFWHULVWLFV6HYHUDORIWKHVHFKDUDFWHULVWLFVDUHRIVSHFLÀFLQWHUHVW

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age, gender, duration of the foster placement, parenting visiting) or are simply understudied (e.g., regarding presence of other foster children in the foster family, family composition, OHJDOIUDPHZRUNSODQQLQJIRUUHXQLÀFDWLRQ,QDGGLWLRQZHLQWHQGHGWRHVWDEOLVKZKHWKHUWKH

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General Method

This dissertation has two chapters reporting the results of meta-analyses and four chapters reporting empirical results of our study on the development of children in foster care.

The empirical longitudinal study was designed and performed for the purpose of this PhD research project and consisted of three waves, separated by six months intervals. The study ZDVDSSURYHGE\WKH/HLGHQ8QLYHUVLW\(WKLFV5HYLHZ%RDUGRIWKH,QVWLWXWHRI(GXFDWLRQDQG

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children aged 0 to 18 from all types of foster families (kinship and non-kinship, voluntary or PDQGDWHGFDUH:HIRFXVHGRQQHZO\SODFHGIRVWHUFKLOGUHQDVZHOODVRQIRVWHUFKLOGUHQZKR

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therapeutic foster care or in part-time foster care. Data was collected via online questionnaires ÀOOHGLQE\WKHIRVWHUSDUHQWV7RDOVRLQFOXGHIRVWHUSDUHQWVIRUZKRPHPDLORULQWHUQHWZDV

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collaboration with seven foster care agencies in the Netherlands.

Development of children in foster care was assessed with a number of measures, all included in the online questionnaire. Our choice of measures was motivated by our wish to maintain a balance between the length of the questionnaire and the use of validated measures DVVHVVLQJ FKLOGUHQ·V GHYHORSPHQW 6FKRRO IXQFWLRQLQJ DQG VFKRRO RXWFRPHV ZHUH DVVHVVHG

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a short instrument that relates well to other, more extensive, instruments that measure school HQJDJHPHQW )UHGULFNV  0F&ROVNH\  %HKDYLRUDO GHYHORSPHQW ZDV PHDVXUHG XVLQJ

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1

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combined into an ‘internalizing’ and an ‘externalizing’ subscale, which facilitates a comparison with previous studies on foster children using the same distinction of domains. An advantage RIWKH6'4RYHUWKH&%&/LVLWVEULHIIRUPDWLWHPVIRUWKH6'4YHUVXVRYHULWHPVIRU

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we wanted to devote attention to the topic of screening and monitoring. In our third wave ZH WKHUHIRUH LQFOXGHG WKH %ULHI $VVHVVPHQW &KHFNOLVW 7DUUHQ6ZHHQH\ E IRU FKLOGUHQ

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foster children, their psychometric properties needed to be further established (Denton et al.,

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chapter of this dissertation we will describe the psychometric properties of the Dutch versions RIWKH%$&PHDVXUHV

Focus and Outline of the Dissertation

This dissertation analyzes the development of children in foster care, and examines which characteristics related to the foster child, the foster family and the foster placement are associated with their development. Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 report the results of two GLIIHUHQWPHWDDQDO\VHV%HFDXVHKLWKHUWRWKHUHZHUHQRRYHUYLHZVWXGLHVRQIRVWHUFKLOGUHQ·V

development, meta-analyses were used to give a better insight in what is known from previous studies and provide suggestions for what the starting point for future studies on foster children’s development could be. Chapter 2 is a meta-analytic comparison of the developmental outcomes contrasting foster children with children from the general population and children at risk who remained at home. Although foster care is the preferred out-of-home placement option, it is not known how the developmental outcomes of children in foster care relate to those of children in RWKHUOLYLQJDUUDQJHPHQWV-DQVVHQV 'HERXWWH0HQQHQ%UHQVLOYHU 7ULFNHWW

The aim of this meta-analysis was to provide information on the developmental outcomes in different arrangements. This meta-analysis can guide toward a model of a placement setting WKDWLVLQWKHEHVWGHYHORSPHQWDOLQWHUHVWRIFKLOGUHQ:DOGHWDO7KHUHVXOWVRIWKLVPHWD

analysis give an overview of foster children’s functioning in comparison with different groups, but do not capture their development over time. Chapter 3 captures this developmental aspect by reporting four meta-analyses which examine the longitudinal developmental outcomes of children in foster care. These meta-analyses include former longitudinal studies on foster children’s behavioral and adaptive functioning, and provide an overview of the state-of-the- art with respect to longitudinal studies on foster children. It points at strengths and limitations of previous studies and results in suggestions for future longitudinal research on foster children.

Chapters 4, 5, 6, and 7 report the results of our empirical study, of which Chapter 5 and 6 FRQFHUQWKHORQJLWXGLQDOÀQGLQJVChapter 4 XVHVWKHGDWDRIWKHÀUVWZDYHDQGUHSRUWVDERXW

the extent to which three clusters of characteristics, those akin to the foster child, the foster family, and the foster placement, were related to foster children’s functioning at the time of

18

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than at later waves. The size enables us to examine a complex model with multiple variables.

Even though this study is cross-sectional, it can provide an overview of the characteristics that are most strongly related to foster children’s developmental outcomes. This information served as input for the longitudinal analyses. Chapter 5 and Chapter 6 both analyze the three- ZDYH ORQJLWXGLQDO GDWD :H ZHUH LQWHUHVWHG LQ IRVWHU FKLOGUHQ·V GHYHORSPHQW ZLWK UHVSHFW

to different developmental domains. Chapter 5 focuses on foster children’s psychosocial development. Foster children’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors and foster parents’

stress will be examined in a transactional framework. Chapter 6 focuses on foster children’s academic development. Predictors of school engagement are examined through multilevel modeling. The last empirical chapter in this dissertation, Chapter 7, uses the data of the third wave and attempts to bridge the gap between the information from previous chapters and foster care practice. The topic of screening and monitoring in foster care is an important one, and Chapter 7 aims to take a step toward improved screening and monitoring of foster FKLOGUHQE\UHSRUWLQJWKHSV\FKRPHWULFSURSHUWLHVRIDQH[LVWLQJPHDVXUH7DUUHQ6ZHHQH\

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valid means to screen and monitor for the quality of psychosocial functioning of Dutch foster children. Chapter 8 is the general discussion in which the results of the preceding chapters are VXPPDUL]HGDQGFULWLFDOO\UHÁHFWHGXSRQ,QDGGLWLRQWKHOLPLWDWLRQVRIWKHVWXGLHVUHSRUWHGLQ

this dissertation will be discussed and directions for future research will be given.

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foster children: A meta-analytic comparison with children from the general population and children at-risk who remained at home. Child Maltreatment, 21, 198-217.

2

22 ABSTRACT

Foster care is often preferred to other placement options for children in the child welfare system. However, it is not clear how the developmental outcomes of foster children relate to children in other living arrangements. In this study, a series of meta-analyses are performed to compare the cognitive, adaptive and behavioral functioning of children placed in foster care (N = 2,305) with children at risk who remained with their biological parents (N = 4,335), and children from the general population (N = 4,971). A systematic literature VHDUFKLQ3V\F,1)20('/,1((5,&DQG3UR4XHVWLGHQWLÀHGVWXGLHVVXLWDEOHIRULQFOXVLRQ

(N = 11,611). Results showed that foster children had generally lower levels of functioning than children from the general population. No clear differences were found between foster children and children at risk who remained at home, but both groups experienced developmental problems. Improving the quality of foster care and future research to identify which children are best served by either foster care or in-home services are recommended.

23

2

INTRODUCTION

Foster care is a way of providing a traditional family life for children in the child welfare system who cannot live with their own parents. This form of child protective services provides stability and continuity of caregivers, the opportunity to build close relationships with VXEVWLWXWHSDUHQWÀJXUHVDQGLGHDOO\RSSRUWXQLWLHVIRUSRVLWLYHGHYHORSPHQW'R]LHU.DXIPDQ

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FRQWUDVWZLWKWKHVHRSWLPLVWLFFODLPV%HWZHHQDQGRIIRVWHUFDUHSODFHPHQWVUHVXOW

in breakdown (Minty, 1999) and the negative consequences of breakdown may compromise WKHSRVLWLYHHIIHFWVRIIRVWHUFDUH1HZWRQ/LWURZQLN /DQGVYHUN0RUHRYHUDOWKRXJK

almost no systematic reviews on the comparison of foster children with children from a general population have been performed (however, for an example on foster care and education see 6FKHUULQGLYLGXDOVWXGLHVVXJJHVWWKDWIRVWHUFKLOGUHQSHUIRUPZRUVHRQGHYHORSPHQWDO

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these results and the high risk of breakdown, the effects of out-of-home placement into foster care remain the subject of controversy (Lawrence et al., 2006).

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support services. At the moment, it is not clear how the developmental outcomes of this group of children relate to that of foster children (Mennen et al., 2010). Information on the comparison of the developmental outcomes for children in different living arrangements (i.e., foster care, at home care with support from the child welfare system, and regular care at home) can provide evidence on which living arrangement is best for which children and hence have consequences IRUVHUYLFHGHOLYHU\IRUGLIIHUHQWJURXSVRIFKLOGUHQDQGWKHLUFDUHJLYHUV-DQVVHQV 'HERXWWH

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developmental outcomes (cognitive, adaptive and behavioral functioning) of children in foster care with children from the general population and with children at risk who remained at home by using meta-analyses.

Placement Settings for Children in the Child Welfare System

Children cared for by the child welfare system either can be placed in out-of-home FDUHRUUHPDLQZLWKWKHLUIDPLOLHVRIRULJLQ/HVOLH*RUGRQ*DQJHU *LVW$OWKRXJK

many children reside in foster families, growing up within the family of origin is in principle preferred over growing up in a foster family (United National General Assembly, 1989). The majority of children in the child welfare system remain with their biological parents while receiving some form of in-home support services aimed at preventing out-of-home placement (Mennen et al., 2010). Remaining at home prevents the potential lack of permanence in case of out-of-home placement and the negative effects associated with the separation of the child from the biological parents. On the other hand, children remaining at home are suggested to EHDWULVNIRUUHSHDWHGPDOWUHDWPHQW&DPSEHOO7KRPDV&RRN .HHQDQ0XUSK\

24

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problems due to less optimal home environments such as poverty, parental psychopathology, VXEVWDQFHDEXVHDQGIDPLO\YLROHQFH&DPSEHOOHWDO/OR\G %DUWK+RZHYHU

for the evaluation of placement settings the possible negative consequences of staying in a dysfunctional home, which may be moderated by in home services, have to be balanced against foster care and its accompanying effects of separation from parents, the child’s removal from home and the challenge of getting used to a new home and family in terms of WKHFKLOG·VZHOOEHLQJDQGGHYHORSPHQWDORXWFRPHV%ULWQHU 0RVVOHU.LQDUG

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these separate studies have not convincingly established how the developmental outcomes of FKLOGUHQLQIRVWHUFDUHUHODWHWRWKRVHRIFKLOGUHQDWULVNZKRUHPDLQHGDWKRPH-DQVVHQV  'HERXWWH0HQQHQHWDO+RZHYHUDQLPSRUWDQWLVVXHLQWKHLQGLYLGXDOVWXGLHV

comparing children in different placement settings, is whether children in foster care can be meaningfully compared to children from the general population and to children at risk who remained at home. The evidently unavoidable pre-existing differences between children in SDUWLFXODUOLYLQJDUUDQJHPHQWVFRPSOLFDWHVLPSOHFRPSDULVRQGLIIHUHQFHVRQPDQ\GLPHQVLRQV

and aspects of child development, in caregivers’ competences and personalities, as well as in contextual affordances make that ‘common’ ceteris paribus reasoning (i.e., all other things being equal), which is basic to systematic comparisons, is challenged.

 +RZHYHUWKLVGRHVQRWGLPLQLVKWKHLPSRUWDQFHRIÀQGLQJVXSSRUWIRUWKHGLIÀFXOWSURFHVV

of decision making when it comes to matching children with the best possible developmental IXWXUH6XFKGHFLVLRQVLQFKLOGZHOIDUHRQZKHWKHUFKLOGUHQVKRXOGEHSODFHGLQIRVWHUFDUHRU

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professionals have to make. Apart from the pre-existing differences between families, children, DQG WKH SURIHVVLRQDOV LQYROYHG SODFHPHQW GHFLVLRQV DUH DOVR LQÁXHQFHG E\ KLVWRULFDO DQG

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to the importance of achieving permanency and stability for children. Other determinants, such as the availability of foster homes and professionals’ judgments in the process of decision- PDNLQJ%ULWQHU 0RVVOHU-RQHV/LQGVH\2VPR %HQEHQLVKW\

also play a role in placement decisions. Together, these factors and the processes involved, PDNHSODFHPHQWGHFLVLRQVFRPSOH[DQGGLIÀFXOWZKLFKFDQSDUWO\EHUHVROYHGE\GHYHORSLQJ

RUDGDSWLQJHPSLULFDOPRGHOVVXSSRUWLQJHYLGHQFHEDVHGGHFLVLRQPDNLQJ=XUDYLQ2UPH  Hegar, 1995). Researchers need to provide input for this challenge by using the best available instruments to weigh available knowledge and derive at the most valid integration possible.

Meta-Analysis on Comparison Studies

The existing studies comparing foster children to children from a general population HJ %UXFH HW DO  -DFREVHQ 0RH ,YDUVVRQ :HQW]HO/DUVHQ  6PLWK  RU

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25

2

between developmental outcomes and care provided, as well as in developing notions about the correspondence between child and care characteristics on the one hand and the care needed to achieve particular developmental outcomes on the other hand. In short, they provide information needed for deciding what placement decision or what decision on care provision LVGHVLUDEOH-DQVVHQV 'HERXWWH8QIRUWXQDWHO\PDQ\RIWKHDYDLODEOHVWXGLHVHJ

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GLIÀFXOW

These challenges can be addressed in a meta-analysis. Meta-analysis allows for the combination of results from individual studies into a statistical summary. An important incremental value of meta-analysis is that a more convincing and reliable overall effect size is REWDLQHGWKDQLQWKHLQGLYLGXDOVWXGLHVWKHPVHOYHV%RUHQVWHLQHWDO,QWKHFXUUHQWVWXG\

we provide meta-analyses on cognitive, adaptive, and behavioral functioning. This provides both foster care professionals and researchers with a statistical summary of some of the most important developmental outcomes of foster children in comparison to the general population and children at risk who remained at home. Furthermore, it may demonstrate for what type of developmental outcomes foster children most likely need extra help. In addition to providing a statistical summary, meta-analysis also allows to assess the heterogeneity between the effect sizes of included studies, and it allows the analysis of potential publication bias. Publication bias may occur because studies with high effect sizes are more likely to be published than studies with lower effect sizes. This may erroneously lead professionals and researchers to believe that effects are larger than they actually are. In a meta-analysis, the extent to which publication bias affects an overall effect size can be analyzed, and, if needed, an effect size adjusted for publication bias can be estimated (Rothstein et al., 2006).

Current Study

It seems that both the option of remaining at home and the option of placement in IRVWHU FDUH KDYH WKHLU RZQ EHQHÀWV DQG ULVNV DQG DV D UHVXOW SODFHPHQW GHFLVLRQV FDQQRW

always be made unequivocally. Information on the comparison of developmental outcomes for children in different placement settings can guide toward a placement setting that is in the best developmental interest of children and more important, it can guide service delivery for GLIIHUHQWJURXSV:DOGHWDO%DVHGRQWKHUHVXOWVRILQGLYLGXDOFRPSDULVRQVWXGLHV

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systematically compare the developmental outcomes of children in foster care and children at risk who remained at home by using meta-analysis. Furthermore, a systematic comparison between foster children and children from the general population is made. The focus is on cognitive, adaptive, and behavioral functioning. To also give insight into the characteristics of the individual studies and samples, a qualitative review is given for each group comparison.

For both quantitative and qualitative analysis, attention is paid to the inclusion criteria and the matching of samples within individual studies. This way we hope to add in a systematic and transparent way to the evaluation of comparability of samples with pre-existing differences.

%HFDXVHHDUOLHUVWXGLHVUHSRUWHGLQFRQFOXVLYHÀQGLQJVQRVSHFLÀFK\SRWKHVHVDUHIRUPXODWHG

26

regarding the developmental outcomes of foster children compared with children at risk who remained at home. Regarding the comparison of foster children with children from the general population, we expect children from the general population to function better than foster FKLOGUHQ)DUPHUHWDO*DUZRRG &ORVH/DQLHU.RKO5DJKDYDQ $XVODQGHU

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comparison of the development of children in foster care, children at risk who remained at KRPH DQG FKLOGUHQ IURP WKH JHQHUDO SRSXODWLRQ 3V\F,1)2 0('/,1( (5,& DQG 3UR4XHVW

'LVVHUWDWLRQV 7KHVHVZHUHVHDUFKHGIRUSXEOLFDWLRQVXQWLO$SULOZLWKWKHVHDUFKWHUPV

foster child* or foster care combined with internalizing, externalizing, behavio*, SDQ, VABS, CBC*, development*, disorder*, cognitive, IQ, intelligence, intellect*, mental problem*, mental health, psychological problem*, compar*, psychopatho*, Vineland, or adaptive. The reference lists of the collected studies were searched for relevant earlier studies. This search resulted in

VWXGLHVZKLFKLQFOXGHGDUWLFOHVUHSRUWVGLVVHUWDWLRQVDQGERRNFKDSWHUV$ÁRZGLDJUDP

of our search is presented in Figure 2.1.

Figure 2.1. Flow diagram of all stages of the literature search.

Records identified through database searching

(n = 7,022)

Records after duplicates removed

(n = 3,371)

Records screened (n = 3,428)

Records excluded (n = 3,161)

Full-text articles assessed for eligibility (n = 267)

Studies included in quantitative synthesis

(meta-analysis) (n = 31)

Full-text articles excluded, with reasons

(n = 236) Additional records identified through

other sources (n = 57)

27

2

Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria

A study had to meet the following four criteria to be included in the meta-analysis.

First, studies had to include children (0-18 years) from both foster care (kinship and / or non- NLQVKLSDQGDWOHDVWRQHFRPSDULVRQJURXSHLWKHUFKLOGUHQDWULVNZKRUHPDLQHGZLWKWKHLU

ELRORJLFDOSDUHQWVRUFKLOGUHQIURPWKHJHQHUDOSRSXODWLRQFRPPXQLW\FRPSDULVRQV6WXGLHV

using norm scores as representative of children from the general population, for instance,

&KLOG%HKDYLRU&KHFNOLVW&%&/QRUPVFRUHVZHUHH[FOXGHG$OVRH[FOXGHGZHUHVWXGLHVWKDW

compared groups before children had been actually placed in different caregiving settings.

Only studies on children from regular foster care were included, because children who receive more intensive forms of foster care might develop in a way that is different from foster children UHFHLYLQJ¶FDUHDVXVXDO·VWXGLHVRQFKLOGUHQIURPWKHUDSHXWLFIRVWHUFDUHRURQIRVWHUFKLOGUHQ

receiving an intensive intervention were excluded .

 6HFRQGVWXGLHVZHUHLQFOXGHGLIWKH\UHSRUWHGRQFRJQLWLYHDGDSWLYHRUEHKDYLRUDO

outcomes. Although we included studies which reported proportions of foster children with

&%&/FOLQLFDOVFRUHVHJ+HÁLQJHUHWDOZHH[FOXGHGVWXGLHVZKLFKUHSRUWHGRQWKH

SHUFHQWDJHRISV\FKLDWULFGLDJQRVHV&HGHUQD0HNR.RFK :DOO+DUPDQ&KLOGV

.HOOHKHU7KLVGLVWLQFWLRQLVPDGHIRUWKHUHDVRQWKDWSV\FKLDWULFGLDJQRVHVFDQQRW

EHIDLUO\FRPSDUHGWRFOLQLFDO&%&/VFRUHVEHFDXVHLWWDNHVPRUHWKDQRQO\KLJK&%&/VFRUHV

WR UHFHLYH D SV\FKLDWULF GLVRUGHU FODVVLÀFDWLRQ +XG]LDN &RSHODQG 6WDQJHU  :DGVZRUWK

2004).

Third, studies were only included if they reported enough data to compute an effect size. Authors of studies wherein statistics relevant to be included in the meta-analyses were lacking were emailed with a request for additional information. This resulted in the inclusion RIIRXUDGGLWLRQDOVWXGLHV%UXFHHWDO&DUERQH6DZ\HU6HDUOH 5RELQVRQ

0HQQHQHWDO0LQHWDO

Fourth, if two or more articles were based on the same sample, we chose to include the VWXG\ZLWKWKHODUJHUVDPSOHVL]HLIVDPSOHVL]HVZHUHHTXDOZHFRGHGWKHVWXG\ZLWKWKHPRVW

GHWDLOHGLQIRUPDWLRQ&DUERQHHWDO&ROWRQHWDO7KHVWXGLHVVXPPDUL]HGLQ

Table 2.1 met the inclusion criteria for the meta-analyses. The third column in this table gives an overview of the groups compared. The last two columns describe which inclusion criteria were used by the individual studies and whether and how the samples compared within studies were matched.

For a study to be included in our meta-analysis, language was not used as an exclusion FULWHULRQ7KLUW\VWXGLHVZHUHZULWWHQLQ(QJOLVKDQGRQHZDVZULWWHQLQ7XUNLVKhVWQHU(URO  6LPVHN:HLQFOXGHGVL[GLVVHUWDWLRQV%HDWW\'DYLV0DURXÀ5RUN

6FKLHIHU6KHSKHUGDQGWZRERRNV0F$XOH\:DOGHWDO

Each study eligible for inclusion in the meta-analysis was also included in the qualitative review.

28

Table 2.1. Studies included in the meta-analyses.

Study (Year of Publication)

Country Groups^A N Age Range in years (Mean)

% Female Measure^B

%DGDHWDO^1,4,8 86$ FC RHGP

152317 514

Tested at 3 years Tested at 3 years Tested at 3 years







&%&/9$%6

%HDWW\ñ 86$ FC

RH 43

42 4-16 (8.0)

4-16 (9.9) 

 &%&L

%HUQHGRHWDO^1,2 6SDLQ FC

GP 97

97 5-18 (10.9)

5-18 (n/a) 

 TRF

%UXFHHWDO¹ 86$ FC

GP 11

11 9-12 (11.0)

9-12 (10.9) 

 &%&/

%XUQVHWDO^1,5,8 86$ FC

RH 323

3411 2-14 (n/a)

2-14 (n/a) 

 &%&/

Carbone et al.

(2007)^1,4,6,8 Australia FC

GP 91-326

1273- 3255

6-17 (11.4)

6-17 (11.4) 

 &%&/<65

Colton et al. (1995)^2,6 UK FC

RH 24-49

29-58 8-14 (n/a)

8-14 (n/a) 

 Rutter

%HKDYLRXU

6FDOHV

Damjanoviç et al.

(2012)^1,4,8 6HUELD FC

GP 104

238 8-18 (13.2)

8-18 (12.8) 

 3HGV4/

'DYLVñ 86$ FC

GP 55

30 6-16 (n/a)

6-16 (n/a) 

 :,6&,,,

Fernandez (2008)^1,4,7 Australia FC

GP 43

42 4-15 (8.8)

n/a (n/a) 

 Adaptive functioning scale, TRF +HÁLQJHUHWDO

(2000)^1,3,4,5 86$ FC

RH 105

72 2-18 (n/a)

2-18 (n/a) 

 &%&/

29

Inclusion Criteria Matching Samples^C

FC, RH, and GP: age. FC and RH: prenatally drug

exposed. <HV 0DWFKLQJ RQ JHQGHU UDFH ELUWK ZHLJKW KHDG

circumference, and maternal age (see p.177, Table 3).

4XDQWLWDWLYHGDWDXVHGLQPHWDDQDO\VLVLVEDVHGRQ

subgroups of groups reported on in Table 3.

FC and RH: from foster or custodial parents, age 4-16 years, Tarrant and Dallas county area, backgrounds of parental neglect/abuse.

No (see Table 1, p.30 and Table 2, p.31).

FC and GP: 5-18 years. FC: not severely disabled, from

0DODJD-DHQDQG*UDQDGD6SDLQ <HV 0DWFKLQJ RQ JHQGHU DJH DQG VRFLDO FODVV

background (see p.617, paragraph 2.1.4.).

FC and GP: 9-12 years. GP: low income, parental education less than a 4-year college degree, no LQYROYHPHQWFKLOGZHOIDUH6HYHUDORWKHUHOLJLELOLW\FULWHULD

(see p.933, paragraph ‘participants’).

<HV0DWFKLQJRQJHQGHUDJHHWKQLFLW\DQGSDUHQWDO

education (see p.933, Table 1 and paragraph

‘participants’).

)& DQG 5+ 1DWLRQDO 6XUYH\ RI &KLOG DQG $GROHVFHQW

:HOOEHLQJ16&$:FRQVLVWVRIWZRFRKRUWVRIUDQGRPO\

VHOHFWHGFKLOGUHQ7KH16&$:VDPSOHGHVLJQLQYROYHVD

VWUDWLÀHG WZRVWDJH VDPSOH ZLWK WKH SULPDU\ VDPSOLQJ

units being county child welfare agencies and the secondary sampling units were selected from lists of closed investigations or assessments from the sampled agencies.

6DPSOLQJZLWKLQSULPDU\VDPSOLQJXQLWVZDVVWUDWLÀHGE\

age, sexual abuse and child welfare services.

No. This article does not report sample characteristics or the matching of the FC and RH group.

FC and GP: 6-17 years. FC: Adelaide metropolitan region, under guardianship, case managed by ‘Families 6$·ZLWKLQIRVWHUIDPLO\IRUDWOHDVWPRQWK*3

\HDUV UDQGRP VDPSOH IURP $XVWUDOLDQ 1DWLRQDO 6XUYH\

RI&KLOGDQG$GROHVFHQW0HQWDO+HDOWKDQG:HOOEHLQJ

<HV 0DWFKLQJ RQ JHQGHU DQG DJH VHH S

Table 1).

FC and RH: 8-14 years, same school. FC: long-term foster care, stable placements (no changes). RH: similar backgrounds, families receiving preventive social work support.

<HV0DWFKLQJRQDJHEDQGDQG)&DQG5+FKLOGUHQ

attended the same schools (see p.68).

FC and GP: 8-18 years, literacy. FC: Children from three PDMRUUHJLRQDOFKLOGFDUHFHQWHUVLQ6HUELD*3IURPIRXU

HOHPHQWDU\VFKRROVLQ6HUELD

<HV0DWFKLQJRQJHQGHUVHHS7DEOH

FC and GP: 6-16 years, same geographical areas. GP:

no history of involvement with legal system and never been abused.

<HV 0DWFKLQJ RQ JHRJUDSKLFDO DUHDV DVVXPLQJ

VDPH 6(6 DQG FXOWXUDO EDFNJURXQG VHH S

4XDQWLWDWLYH GDWD LQFOXGHG LQ RXU PHWDDQDO\VHV LV

controlled for age (see p.23).

FC and GP: 4-16 years. FC: new foster placement, long- term foster care, majority non-kinship. GP: classmate from FC, matched for age and sex.

<HV0DWFKLQJRQJHQGHUDQGDJHVHHS

FC and RH: 2-18 years, random and representative VDPSOH RI FKLOGUHQ DQG \RXWK LQ VWDWH FXVWRG\ 6WDWH RI

Tennessee.

No. This article does not report sample characteristics or the matching of the FC and RH group.

2

30

Study (Year of Publication)

Country Groups^A N Age Range in years (Mean)

% Female Measure^B

+XOVH\ :KLWH

(1989)^1,8 86$ FC

GP 65

65 4-8 (5.8)

4-8 (5.5) 

 &%&/

-DFREVHQHWDO

(2013)^1,7,8 Norway FC

GP

60 42

22-25 months (23.3 months) 22-24 months (23.2 months)





,76($06(/

-DQVVHQV 'HERXWWH

(2010)^1,4,6,8 %HOJLXP FC

RH 7-55

29-59 3-17 (10.2)

3-17 (12.6) 

 &%&/6'4, 75)<65

-RKQVRQHWDO

(2010)^1,3,5,7,8 86$

Romania FC GP

63 72

5-32 months (21.0 months) 5-32 months (19.3 months)





%6,'

:336,,,

/HLIHU 6KDSLUR

(1993)^1,3 86$ FC

RH 32

28 5-16 (8.9)

5-16 (8.9) 

 &%&/&',

:,6&5

0DURXÀ² 86$ FC

RH

39 39

2-36 months (12.7 months) 2-36 months (12.5 months)





06(/9$%6

McAuley (1996)^2,7 Northern Ireland FC

GP 17

17 4-12 (8.4)

n/a 

n/a TRF

Mennen et al. (2010)^1,4,8 86$ FC RHGP

138164 151

9-12 (10.8) 9-12 (10.8) 9-12 (11.1)







&%&/&',

0$6&

633$<65

Min et al. (2014)^1,4,6,7 86$ FC

RH 45-49

95-100 12-15 (12.1)

12-15 (12.1) 

 <65

3HDUV )LVKHU^1,8 86$ FC

GP 99

54 3-6 (4.4)

3-6 (4.3) 

 :336,5

Table 2.1. (continued)