Rufa Anne K, Fowler Patrick J
DePaul University, Psychology, 2219 N. Kenmore Ave., Chicago, IL 60614, (
George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA (
J Soc Serv Res. 2016;42(1):26-40. doi: 10.1080/01488376.2015.1077187. Epub 2015 Oct 29.
This study investigated the effects of kinship foster care on mental health outcomes among African American youth. Longitudinal data were used from a nationally representative sample of children and adolescents who were the subject of child protective services investigation from 1999 to 2000 (=5,501). The secondary analyses focused on African American youth (=225) placed into foster care. In structured interviews, current caregivers reported on youth internalizing and externalizing behaviors immediately following placement into out-of-home care and 18-months later. Path analysis tested a theoretical model that compared placements with kin to other formal out-of-home arrangements in context of setting characteristics, including aspects of caregiver and neighborhood disorder. Results suggested significant increases in symptoms over time for youth with more baseline mental health problems, as well as those placed in more distressed neighborhoods. Increased symptoms occurred among youth with greater baseline behavior problems, those placed in more problematic neighborhoods, and youth who experienced a placement change between assessments. Additionally, a combination of placement characteristics predicted increases in externalizing problems; youth placed in kinship foster care with older caregivers in poorer health exhibited greater increases in externalizing problems. Findings highlighted important contextual considerations for out-of-home placement among African American youth.
本研究调查了亲属寄养对非裔美国青少年心理健康结果的影响。研究使用了1999年至2000年期间接受儿童保护服务调查的具有全国代表性的儿童和青少年样本的纵向数据（=5501）。二次分析聚焦于被安置到寄养家庭的非裔美国青少年（=225）。在结构化访谈中，现任照料者报告了青少年在被安置到家庭外照料机构后立即以及18个月后的内化和外化行为。路径分析检验了一个理论模型，该模型在照料者和邻里混乱等环境特征的背景下，将亲属安置与其他正式的家庭外安置安排进行了比较。结果表明，基线心理健康问题较多的青少年以及被安置在困境较多社区的青少年，其症状随时间显著增加。有更多基线行为问题的青少年、被安置在问题较多社区的青少年以及在两次评估之间经历安置变化的青少年，其症状都有所增加。此外，安置特征的组合预示着外化问题会增加；被安置在亲属寄养家庭中、照料者年龄较大且健康状况较差的青少年，其外化问题增加得更为明显。研究结果突出了非裔美国青少年家庭外安置的重要背景因素。
