Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, England, United Kingdom.
Department of Health Sciences, University of York, YO10 5DD, York, England, United Kingdom.
Child Abuse Negl. 2019 Feb;88:189-200. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.11.011. Epub 2018 Dec 8.
Children in out-of-home care are consistently found to have poor mental health compared to children in the general population. However, UK research has so far failed to disentangle the impact of the care system on children's mental health outcomes from the effects of the adverse circumstances that led to their admission to care.
This research investigated the association between care placement and the presence of child mental health problems after controlling for children's pre-care experiences. It also identified factors associated with mental health problems among children in care.
The sample comprised three groups of children involved with child welfare services due to maltreatment, including children in out-of-home care (n = 122), reunified children (n = 82) and those who had never been in care (n = 159).
The mental health of the children in the three groups was compared, using information collected from their parents/foster carers and social workers.
The odds of a child in out-of-home care having a mental health problem were not significantly higher than those of a child who had never been in care (AOR = 1.24; p = 0.462). However, the odds of a child in out-of-home care having reactive attachment disorder (RAD) were significantly higher than those of a child who had never been in care (AOR=1.92; p = 0.032).
These findings make an important contribution to international debates about whether placing children in care is beneficial or detrimental to their wellbeing, and highlight a range of inter-linking factors associated with the mental health of children in out-of-home care.
与一般人群相比，机构照料中的儿童始终被发现存在较差的心理健康状况。然而，英国的研究迄今为止未能厘清照料系统对儿童心理健康结果的影响与导致他们进入照料的不利环境的影响。
本研究旨在控制儿童入前照护经历的情况下，调查照料安置与儿童出现心理健康问题之间的关联。本研究还确定了照料中儿童心理健康问题的相关因素。
该样本包括因虐待而涉及儿童福利服务的三组儿童，包括机构照料中的儿童（n=122）、重新团聚的儿童（n=82）和从未接受过照料的儿童（n=159）。
通过收集父母/寄养照顾者和社会工作者的信息，比较了三组儿童的心理健康状况。
机构照料中儿童出现心理健康问题的可能性并不显著高于从未接受过照料的儿童（OR=1.24；p=0.462）。然而，机构照料中儿童出现反应性依恋障碍（RAD）的可能性显著高于从未接受过照料的儿童（OR=1.92；p=0.032）。
这些发现为关于将儿童安置在照料中是否对其福祉有益或有害的国际争论做出了重要贡献，并强调了与照料中儿童心理健康相关的一系列相互关联的因素。
