| Title | Behavior problems of children in kinship care. | | Author(s) | Dubowitz H, Zuravin S, Starr RH, Feigelman S, Harrington D | | Institution | Department of Pediatrics, University of Maryland, School of Medicine, Baltimore 21204. | | Source | J Dev Behav Pediatr 1993 Dec; 14(6):386-93. | | MeSH | Adolescent
Affective Symptoms
Baltimore
Caregivers
Child
Child Behavior Disorders
Child Welfare
Child, Preschool
Family
Female
Foster Home Care
Humans
Internal-External Control
Male
Models, Statistical
Odds Ratio
Personality Assessment
Risk Factors
Social Work
Urban Population
| | Abstract | An increasing number of children needing out-of-home care are being placed with relatives. Despite this pervasive policy, there has been scant research on children in this arrangement called kinship care. The objectives of this study were (1) to assess the behavior of children in kinship care and (2) to identify predictors of their behavior. The caregivers of 346 children in kinship care completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Background information was obtained from caregivers and caseworkers. Forty-two percent of boys and 28% of girls had overall CBCL scores in the clinical range, compared with an expected 10% in the general population. Logistic regressions revealed several variables significantly associated with behavior problems including: reason for placement, gender, race, caregiver's perception of the child, caregiver's educational level, number of contacts between caregiver and caseworker, long-term plan, and child's age. The frequent behavior problems among these high-risk children in kinship care suggest they all deserve mental health evaluations; at a minimum, periodic screening is indicated. | | Language | eng | | Pub Type(s) | Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
| | PubMed ID | 8126231 |
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