Supporting older youth in care: The role of caregivers.

Autor:	Cullen, Greggory
Předmět:	CHILD welfare RISK assessment PSYCHOLOGICAL resilience MENTAL health CRONBACH'S alpha ATTACHMENT behavior SUBSTANCE abuse treatment SEX distribution LOGISTIC regression analysis FOSTER home care SERVICES for caregivers TREATMENT effectiveness DESCRIPTIVE statistics ODDS ratio PSYCHOLOGY of caregivers DATA analysis software CONFIDENCE intervals INTERPERSONAL relations RESIDENTIAL care EDUCATIONAL attainment WELL-being ADOLESCENCE
Zdroj:	Adoption & Fostering; Mar2024, Vol. 48 Issue 1, p57-81, 25p
Abstrakt:	Adolescents living in care are vulnerable to a range of negative outcomes. Although the mental health and substance use problems of foster youth are widely documented, significantly less research examines the influence of caregivers on these two dimensions of health and wellbeing. Given the importance of caregivers to the development of adolescents in child welfare, the present study investigates the relationship between caregiver characteristics, caregiver attachment and placement type on mental health and substance use. The sample consists of 1,093 young people taken from the 2016 Ontario Looking After Children project who are between 16 and 17 years of age. Findings suggest that caregiver attachment, caregiver gender and the caregiver's school expectations are all significantly associated with mental health and substance use among this population. Results will inform child welfare professionals about a number of risk-predictive factors of mental health and substance use problems among a sample of young people preparing to transition to adulthood. These findings will help service providers design policies and intervention strategies to improve the future outcomes of youth involved in child welfare. Plain Language Summary: There is a lack of research investigating the role of caregivers in the development and prevention of mental health issues and substance use among youth living in care. The goal of this study is to examine the relationship between caregiver characteristics, caregiver attachment and placement type on two dimensions of mental health and substance use among a sample of older youth living in care. The data used for this study were collected as part of the Ontario Looking After Children project, which was developed to assess the needs and developmental progress of children and young people who have been in care for at least a year. Findings from this study show that caregiver attachment, caregiver's gender and caregiver's school expectations are all significantly associated with mental health and substance use among older youth living in care. These findings highlight the importance of developing and maintaining healthy caregiver–child relationships as well as active involvement by the caregiver in the youth's schooling. Stable living environments will also help these young people to build and maintain healthy bonds with their community and peers. These results will inform future policies and intervention strategies aimed at improving the future outcomes for youth involved in child welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Databáze:	Complementary Index
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