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Foster children's behavioral development and foster parent stress: testing a transactional model
Anouk Goemans1, Mitch van Geel1, Paul Vedder1
1Institute of Education and Child Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Journal of Child and Family Studies
|March 24, 2018
Summary
Foster children's behavioral problems predict foster parent stress, but not vice versa. This longitudinal study found no bidirectional influence between foster parent stress and child behavior, unlike in biological families.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Family Studies
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Foster care involves complex child-parent dynamics.
- Understanding transactional relationships is crucial for effective interventions.
- Previous research suggests bidirectional influences in biological families.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate transactional relations between foster parent stress and child behaviors.
- To examine unidirectional and bidirectional pathways over time.
- To assess the stability of these relations across child subgroups.
Main Methods:
- Three-wave longitudinal study design.
- Cross-lagged structural equation modeling.
- Analysis of 237 foster children and their parents in the Netherlands.
Main Results:
- Foster children's internalizing and externalizing behaviors prospectively predicted foster parent stress.
- No significant prospective pathways were found from foster parent stress to child behaviors.
- Bidirectional relations were not observed, contrary to hypotheses.
Conclusions:
- Foster parent stress appears to be a consequence, not a cause, of child behavioral issues.
- Foster parents may not influence child problem behavior regulation.
- Further research is needed on how foster parents support child well-being.