Key words: foster care, emotional availability, Foster carer-Foster child Intervention (FFI) 1 In 2010, in the Netherlands, 24,150 children between 0 and 21 years made use of some form of family foster care. About two-thirds of the placements were short term (less than one year). About three out of four children in family foster care were below the age of 12. The number of children so placed has been increasing annually since 2000 (Factsheet Pleegzorg [Foster Care Fact Sheet], 2011) and in 2010, 57 per cent of those placed out-of-home full time were living in foster families (Jeugdzorg Nederland [Youth Care, the Netherlands], 2011). at NORTHWESTERN UNIV LIBRARY on June 5, 2016 aaf.sagepub.com Downloaded fromWilson K, Sinclair I and Gibbs I, 'The trouble with foster care: the impact of stressful "events" on foster carers'

The relationship between foster children and their foster carers comes with many risks and may be very stressful both for parents and children. We developed an intervention (foster family intervention [FFI]) to tackle these risks. The intervention focuses on foster children below the age of 5 years. The objective was to investigate the effects of FFI on the interactions between foster parents and foster children. A randomized control trial was carried out with a sample of 123 preschool aged children (mean age 18.8 months; 51% boys) and their foster carers. A pretest was carried out 6 to 8 weeks after placement and a posttest one half year later. Interactions were videotaped and coded using the Emotional Availability Scales (EAS). Foster carers were asked to fill in the Dutch version of the Parenting Stress Index. Morning and evening samples of children's salivary cortisol were taken. In the posttest, significantly positive effects were found on the following EAS subscales: Sensitivity, Structuring, Nonintrusiveness, and Responsiveness. We found no significant differences on stress levels of foster carers and children (Nijmeegse Ouderlijke Stress Index domains and salivary cortisol). This study shows that the FFI has a significant positive effect on parenting skills as measured with EAS and on Responsiveness of the foster child. Findings are discussed in terms of impact and significance relating to methodology and design of the study and to clinical relevance. (PsycINFO Database Record

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