What changes during specialized foster care? A study on adaptive functioning and emotional and social problems

Abstract

Various models of specialized foster care have been developed, but research on them is limited. This longitudinal, exploratory study analysed data on adaptive functioning, emotional and social problems and self-concept in a specialized foster care service in Sweden. The focus of the study was on the development of the children and young people in placement. The Adaptive Behaviour Assessment System (ABAS-II) was used to measure adaptive functioning, and the Beck Youth Inventories of Emotional and Social Impairment (BYI) was used to measure self-rated emotional and social problems and self-concept. Self-ratings showed significant improvements in disruptive behaviour, anger, anxiety and depression. Adaptive functioning as rated by foster parents improved but not enough to catch up with the non-clinical norm group. The average adaptive functioning among the participants at baseline was considerably below the Swedish norm group. Similar to the results of a previous study of the same treatment model, children and young people rated improvement while their foster parents did not do so to the same extent. Possible explanations for this are discussed in the paper. The study is limited by the lack of a control group and by data attrition.

Adaptive Behavior in Slovak Children with Intellectual Disability in Institutional Care

“…Institutional care can only partially “catchup” with lagging in development. The specifics of institutional care also negatively affect the development of a child [ 72 ]. Difficulties in developing a secure attachment, frequent changes of caregivers, and a large group of children with whom they grow up, can negatively affect development and bring specific adverse experiences to the child [ 30 , 40 , 57 ].…”

Experiences of counselors participating in an innovative project to develop a training program for specialized foster parents of youth (13–18 years)

“…Residential institutions employ experienced professionals to provide a safe environment. Specialized foster care (SFC), which provides care in the context of a family, especially older children and adolescents, has proven to be a viable alternative to institutional care (Webb, 2010;Åkerman et al, 2023;Chartier and Blavier, 2023).…”