Economic Antecedents of Foster Care

Individual and ecological research suggests that rising unemployment may affect the incidence of violence through two countervailing mechanisms suggested by frustration–aggression theory. The first, or provocation effect, assumes increased violence among persons who feel anger because they believe their job loss was arbitrary. The second, or inhibition effect, posits less violence among employed persons who attempt to reduce their chances of job loss by curtailing behavior objectionable to employers. The literature also reports that these mechanisms affect victimization measured as foster care sought by the state for abused children. The foster care finding, although consistent with theory and important for basic as well as applied reasons, arises from methods that cannot rule out several rival hypotheses. We revisit this research and apply improved methods to test the reported association in Los Angeles and San Francisco counties. We find that, as implied by the provocation and inhibition mechanisms, differences in monthly prevalence of foster care placements increase with modest increases in unemployment but decline when unemployment becomes much higher than usual levels.     

Parent Perspectives on Family Involvement in Therapeutic Foster Care

There has been an increasing focus on family involvement in the treatment of children with serious emotional disorders, but it has received only limited attention in relation to out-of-home placements. I present the findings from a qualitative study of family involvement from the perspectives of parents whose children were placed in therapeutic foster care (TFC). Parents' perspectives on their involvement in placement decisions, relationships with professionals and TFC providers, practices related to family involvement, barriers to involvement, and strategies to enhance family involvement are described. Parents of children in TFC wanted to have contact with their children and to participate in decision making. They described relationships and practices that contributed to their involvement.     

Professional and Provider Perspectives on Family Involvement in Therapeutic Foster Care

Therapeutic foster care (TFC) offers a promising community-based treatment option for children with serious emotional and behavioral disorders in the child welfare system. Family involvement is believed to contribute to achieving the goal of family reunification in TFC, but there has been little attention to family involvement in TFC. I present findings of a qualitative study of child welfare professionals' and TFC providers' perspectives on family involvement. Respondents' views of parent-child contact, parent-professional communication and information sharing, and family involvement in decision making were examined. Values and attitudes toward family involvement, practices related to family involvement, barriers to involvement, and strategies to promote involvement emerged as themes. Professionals in this study believed in the value of family involvement, but there were challenges at the organizational level and related to some TFC providers' lack of training to work with families.     

A Role for Occupational Therapy in Foster Care

The purpose of this publication is threefold. First, it is an attempt to document the need for occupational therapy services within the foster care population. Second, it describes methods that can be used by occupational therapists to provide appropriate interventions to people affected by foster care. And third, it highlights the need for and identifies specific assessments that can be used to evaluate individuals affected by foster care and to measure the effectiveness of occupational therapy services delivered to foster care agencies.     

Mental Health Problems of Children in Foster Care

We compared the rates of mental health problems in children in foster care across three counties in California. A total of 267 children, ages 0 to 17, were assessed two to four months after entry into foster care using a behavioral screening checklist, a measure of self-concept and, in one county, an adaptive behavior survey. Results confirmed previous research and indicated consistently high rates of mental health problems across the three counties. Behavior problems in the clinical or borderline range of the CBCL were observed at two and a half times the rate expected in a community population. Fewer children fell within the clinical range on the self-concept measure. No significant differences in rates between the three county foster care cohorts were observed, despite the different demographic characteristics of the counties. On the adaptive behavior scale, the mean scores for children in foster care were more than one standard deviation below the norm. Our findings suggest that the most important mental health screening issue with children in foster care is to identify what specific mental health problems need to be addressed so that the most effective treatment services can be provided.     

Ethical Considerations for the Treatment of Youth in Foster Care

Mental health clinicians treating youth in foster care face several ethical challenges, such as competence for treating youth in foster care, understanding who can provide informed consent, and confidentiality. However, few articles have addressed these ethical concerns or provided recommendations for clinicians on how to navigate these issues. This article presents a brief summary of the foster care system, an overview of the major ethical challenges clinicians may encounter when treating youth in foster care, areas of the American Psychological Association’s Ethics Code, Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers, and American Counseling Association Code of Ethics most germane to the treatment of youth in foster care, and general recommendations for clinicians treating this population.     

Occupational Therapy's Emerging Role With Transitioning Adolescents in Foster Care

The American Occupational Therapy Association's Centennial Vision advocates for an emphasis on intervention and prevention services for children, young people, the aging, and those with severe and persistent mental illness. This article discusses mental health issues among adolescents in foster care, a population that would greatly benefit from occupational therapy services emphasizing skill development in the areas of independent living, vocation, and health. Additionally, current intervention modalities used by other disciplines with adolescents in foster care are explored. Finally, a pilot study demonstrating the opportunities for occupational therapists to influence the long-term outcomes of adolescents in foster care is described.     

Treatment Foster Care in a System of Care: Sequences and Correlates of Residential Placements

We examined Treatment Foster Care (TFC) in residential trajectories for youth with psychiatric disorders and aggressive behavior. We analyzed residential placements of a statewide sample of youth during the 12 months preceding and following admission to TFC. Prior to TFC, the majority of youth were residing in more restrictive settings (group homes or residential treatment). Two-thirds of youth remained in TFC throughout the follow-up year. Of those who left, nearly half returned home, and slightly fewer were discharged to group homes. By the end of the 12-month follow-up period, rates of group home use were similar to those seen in the pre-TFC period. Movement out of TFC during the year was associated with being older at placement and with increased problem behavior (particularly externalizing behaviors). TFC serves as a step-down placement for a substantial number of youth. However, this is not the only way it is used, and models based on short-term transitioning or reunification with families may not be widely implemented or relevant in practice. Additional research is needed to understand current functions of TFC in residential trajectories and to maximize its utility in systems of care.     

Foster Care Chronicles: Use of the Arts for Teens Aging Out of the Foster Care System

This article describes the use of narrative and drama therapies as creative therapeutic interventions to engage and assist vulnerable youth. Foster Care Chronicles was a collaboration between a state university social work program and a local department of social services in a child welfare unit. This 2-year exploratory project employed an innovative approach to work with foster care youth, all of whom were within 2 years of “aging out” of care. The project utilized narrative therapy and drama therapy in a group setting by building on youths’ individual and collective strengths in writing, speaking, and acting. As these youth assessed their participation in this program, their reflections addressed developing aspects of self-image, self-healing, self-efficacy, and lessons learned.     

Combating Foster Care Drift: An Ecosystemic Treatment Model For Neglect Cases

The neglect of children may take many forms, but always represents the diminished capacity of the entire system of which the children are a living part. Child, parent, family, neighborhood, and community variables mutually influence one another. Once children are removed from a home, these same individual, relational, and contextual factors may result in foster placements of indefinite term and goals. Families are not reunited nor are the children legally freed to be placed in permanent homes. Because of the multiplicity of transacting influences there needs to be a stage-wise, systemic approach to remediation. This begins with crisis intervention and life stabilization. Later it includes more traditional family therapy work. However, the marital and family therapist contributes substantially at each stage.     

Balancing Elder Care Responsibilities and Work: The Impact on Emotional Health

The current study investigated the effects of balancing elder care and work on emotional health. Responses from 43 retired caregivers, 211 not retired caregivers, 49 retired non-caregivers, and 224 not retired non-caregivers, who had participated in the national Health and Retirement Study, served as the data base. Results indicate that Caregiver Status (Caregiver vs. Non-caregiver) and Retirement Status (Retired vs. Not Retired) interact, depending on the measure of emotional health. The relationship between the number of depression symptoms reported and Caregiver Status depended on whether the respondent was also retired or employed; a significant interaction was not found when emotional health was measured with one overall item. A significant difference was not found between employed caregivers and employed non-caregivers, in terms of emotional health. Employed caregivers who gave more caregiving hours did report poorer emotional health than employed caregivers who gave fewer hours. Female caregivers reported more depression symptoms than male caregivers. The results suggest that employers may need to develop interventions which may help caregivers who are highly involved with caregiving responsibilities.     

Hunger Pangs: Transference and Countertransference in the Treatment of Foster Children

In working with children, clinicians are often confronted with physical as well as psychological hunger—demands for real along with symbolic feeding. Foster children, who have suffered actual neglect and deprivation, often stir powerful and primitive feelings about the place and importance of the real and the symbolic in psychotherapy. These parentless children explicitly and implicitly announce that they need a family, not a therapist. In response, the therapist, particularly the young and inexperienced clinician, may devalue the therapeutic relationship and unconsciously move into a parental role, feeling that without the protection of a family the child will inevitably fall into the enormous emotional, economic, and systemic cracks in the world of foster care. Clinical material illustrates these points.     

Mental Health and Other Service Use by Youth in Therapeutic Foster Care and Group Homes

Little is known about what additional services youth receive while they reside in out-of-home treatment settings. However, such information may be crucial for explaining effectiveness and variation in outcomes for youth in such settings. Our research examines patterns of multi-sector service use for youth in two settings—Therapeutic Foster Care and group homes. Data come from in-person interviews with Treatment Foster Parents and Group Home Staff for a NC state-wide sample of youth with psychiatric disorders and aggressive behavior. Findings indicated high rates of service use by youth in both settings. Analyses indicated significant differences in service types used by youth in each setting, yet similar volume of service use between settings. Clinical and demographic factors did not significantly influence types of services received. Differences in service patterns between the two groups indicated that youth in TFC were more likely to receive community-based, individualized services while youth in group homes were more likely to receive more restrictive services.     

Relationship of Attachment Style to Personality Factors and Family Interaction Patterns

This study investigated the relationships among attachment, personality style, and family interaction patterns. The results revealed that avoidant attachment style was associated with indirect affect expression as measured by somatic complaints, social isolation, family disengagement, and family conflict avoidance. Anxious/ambivalent style was associated with more overt expression of depression and anxiety. Family factors were not significantly related to either the anxious/ambivalent or secure styles. The implications and potential therapy benefits for use of attachment theory in family therapy and directions for future research are also addressed. Marci Leveridge, PhD, is a Licensed Health Service Provider and private practitioner in Oklahoma City. Cal Stoltenberg, PhD, is Professor, Counseling Psychology Program, University of Oklahoma, Department of Educational Psychology, 820 Van Vleet Oval, Room 321, Norman, OK 73019-2041 (cstoltenberg@ou.edu). Denise Beesley, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Counseling Psychology Program at the University of Oklahoma.     

老年人夫妻冲突一般特点及其与依恋的关系

采用开放式与封闭式问卷相结合的方式对27对60～84岁(M=69.93±5.89)的老年夫妻测查了老年人夫妻依恋风格及夫妻冲突的特点。结果表明,老年人夫妻冲突具有低频率、低强度、较低的威胁性、较高的建设性及易解决的特点;不同依恋风格的老年人夫妻冲突的强度、频率、冲突解决程度均不存在显著差异;在冲突性质上,安全型依恋风格老年人感知到的冲突建设性显著高于不安全型依恋风格个体,但其感知到的冲突威胁性无显著差异;老年夫妻对冲突的感知存在冲突知觉一致性效应。     

成人依恋表征与婚恋依恋

近年来依恋研究已拓展到成人的依恋表征和婚恋依恋,依恋表征是成人对其早期依恋经验的回忆和重构,婚恋依恋是成人与情侣间构成的依恋情感联结。该文介绍了依恋表征和婚恋依恋研究的理论背景、测量方法及主要成果——依恋的代际传递性、依恋的临床应用、婚恋依恋对成人婚恋关系质量和工作的影响。最后探讨了成人依恋领域有待深入研究的问题,如依恋表征与婚恋依恋的关系问题、依恋的稳定性与变化问题以及依恋是个体差异还是关系变量等,并分析了今后的研究方向。     

核心家庭父亲协同教养对青少年抑郁的影响:父子依恋和母子依恋的中介作用

基于家庭系统理论,采用父亲协同教养、父子依恋、母子依恋和抑郁量表,对河南省某中学初中一、二年级,高中一、二年级共计890名来自核心家庭的青少年进行调查,探索父亲协同教养各维度（团结、一致、冲突、贬低）与青少年抑郁之间的关系,以及父子依恋和母子依恋在二者关系中的中介作用。结果表明：（1）在控制其它维度作用的情况下,父亲协同教养中的团结和冲突对青少年抑郁具有显著的预测作用,一致和贬低对抑郁的预测作用不显著,表明团结、冲突对青少年抑郁具有显著的“独特效应”;（2）团结、一致、冲突、贬低性协同教养均对母子依恋具有显著影响,支持家庭系统中的“交叉效应”;团结、冲突对父子依恋具有显著影响,支持家庭系统中的“外溢效应”;（3）中介效应分析的结果表明,团结、一致、冲突对抑郁的直接效应不显著,母子依恋在团结与青少年抑郁、冲突与青少年抑郁的关系中起到完全中介作用,但父子依恋的中介作用不显著。本研究有助于增进对父亲协同教养的认知,对于指导家庭教育实践、促进青少年心理积极发展具有重要的意义。     

Family Functioning and Attachment Among Young Adults in Western and Non-Western Societies

Abstract

Family functioning (FF) is associated with patterns of adults’ close relationship attachment, which works differently in western and non-western societies. In this study, the relationship between FF and attachment (A), as well as the difference in relationship between FF and A across western and non-western societies were examined. A total of 600 young adults (294 males, 306 females) were recruited from western and non-western societies through the SurveyCircle and social media and communication applications. The data was analyzed using PLS-SEM and multigroup analysis, and the results showed that in western and non-western societies, family adaptability and cohesion were significantly associated with anxiety, close, and depend attachments. Unexpectedly, higher family adaptability was associated with higher anxiety attachment. The associations among family adaptability and cohesion with anxiety, close, and depend attachments showed that the strengths of the relationships are significantly different in western and non-western societies, except for the association between family cohesion and anxiety. Based on these results, the cultural differences in terms of FF and young adults’ close relationship attachment were presented for future research, family therapy, and the society.     

Behavior Problems, Academic Skill Delays and School Failure Among School-Aged Children in Foster Care: Their Relationship to Placement Characteristics

We describe the level of behavior problems, academic skill delays, and school failure among school-aged children in foster care. We also examine how behavior problems are associated with academic problems, and explore how these outcomes are related to children's placement characteristics. Foster parent and child home interviews, as well as teacher telephone interviews were conducted from a randomly selected sample of 302 children aged 6 through 12 years living in out-of-home placement. Interviews included standardized screening measures. Results showed that 27% of the children scored in the clinical range for a behavior problem, and 34% were rated as having at least one behavior problem in the classroom. Twenty-three percent of the children had severe delays in reading or math, 13% had repeated a grade, and 14% had a history of school suspension and/or expulsion. Behavior problems by foster parent report were related to child suspension and/or expulsion from school, but were not associated with severe academic delays or grade retention. Placement characteristics were only sometimes related to these outcomes. Future studies examining the mental health and educational needs of this population should take into account the child's sociodemographic and placement characteristics.