Abstract
Caregiver-perpetrated trauma (CPT) is associated with adverse consequences for youth, including out-of-home placement. Although promotion of kinship care placement has recently increased, effects on youth remain unclear. Psychosocial functioning of 1107 CPT-exposed youth ages 2 to 18 was compared across placement types using generalized mixed models. Youth remaining at home had increased Somatization symptoms compared to kinship (OR = .25, CI = 0.07–.88) and foster care (OR = .32, CI = 0.11–.98) youth. Both out-of-home placement types had higher odds of Attachment Problems (OR = 3.61, CI = 2.22–5.87 and 4.41, CI = 2.71–7.18 respectively). PTSD symptoms varied, youth in kinship care had increased self-reported re-experiencing symptoms (OR = 2.66, CI = 1.04–6.8), while youth in foster care had elevated clinician-rated PTSD (OR = 2.07, CI = 1.1.3–3.80). Given the limited differences between kinship and foster care, studies should continue to delineate the impact of child placement type to inform child welfare policy.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. A. (2001). Manual for the ASEBA school-age forms & profiles. Burlington: University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth, and Families.
Baer, J. C., & Martinez, C. D. (2006). Child maltreatment and insecure attachment: a meta-analysis. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 24(3), 187–197. https://doi.org/10.1080/02646830600821231.
Cook, A., Spinazzola, J., Ford, J., Lanktree, C., Blaustein, M., Cloitre, M., … van der Kolk, B. (2005). Complex trauma in children and adolescents. Psychiatric Annals, 35(5), 390–398.
Enlow, M., Blood, E., & Egeland, B. (2013). Sociodemographic risk, developmental competence, and PTSD symptoms in young children exposed to interpersonal trauma in early life. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 26(6), 686–694. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.21866.
Fraynt, R., Ross, L., Baker, B. L., Rystad, I., Lee, J., & Briggs, E. C. (2014). Predictors of treatment engagement in ethnically diverse, urban children receiving treatment for trauma exposure. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 27, 66–73. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.21889.
Greeson, J. K. P., Briggs, E. C., Kisiel, C. L., Layne, C. M., Ake, G. S., Ko, S. J., Gerrity, E. T., Steinberg, A. M., Howard, M. L., Pynoos, R. S., & Fairbank, J. A. (2011). Complex trauma and mental health in children and adolescents placed in foster care: findings from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. Child Welfare, 90(6), 91–108.
Health Consumer Alliance. (2006). Health care for foster children: The health care rights of children in foster care. Retrieved from http://healthconsumer.org/cs043FosterCareRights.pdf.
Kliethermes, M., Schacht, M., & Drewry, K. (2014). Complex trauma. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 23, 339–661. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chc.2013.12.009.
Knott, T., & Donovan, K. (2010). Disproportionate representation of African-American children in foster care: secondary analysis of the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, 2005. Children and Youth Services Review, 32(5), 679–684. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2010.01.003.
Koh, E. (2010). Permanency outcomes of children in kinship and non-kinship foster care: testing the external validity of kinship effects. Children and Youth Services Review, 32(3), 389–398. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2009.10.010.
Lin, C. (2014). Evaluating services for kinship care families: a systematic review. Children and Youth Services Review, 36, 32–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2013.10.026.
McWey, L. M., Acock, A., & Porter, B. E. (2010). The impact of continued contact with biological parents upon the mental health of children in foster care. Children and youth services review, 32(10), 1338–1345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2010.05.003.
Price, M., Higa-McMillan, C., Kim, S., & Frueh, B. (2013). Trauma experience in children and adolescents: an assessment of the effects of trauma type and role of interpersonal proximity. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 27(7), 652–660. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2013.07.009.
Putnam, F. W. (2006). The impact of trauma on child development. Juvenile and Family Court Journal, 57(1), 1–11. Retrieved from http://www.psychceu.com/nctsn/Putnam.impact.pdf.
Rodriguez, N., Steinberg, A. S., Saltzman, W. S., & Pynoos, R. S. (2001a). PTSD Index: psychometric analyses of the adolescent version. Symposium conducted at the Annual Meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, New Orleans, LA.
Rodriguez, N., Steinberg, A. S., Saltzman, W. S., & Pynoos, R. S. (2001b). PTSD Index: preliminary psychometric analyses of child and parent versions. Symposium conducted at the Annual Meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, New Orleans, LA.
Rufa, A. K., & Fowler, P. J. (2016). Kinship foster care among African American youth: interaction effects at multiple contextual levels. Journal of Social Service Research, 42(1), 26–40. https://doi.org/10.1080/01488376.2015.1077187.
Sakai, C., Lin, H., & Flores, G. (2011). Health outcomes and family services in kinship care: analysis of a national sample of children in the child welfare system. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 165(2), 159–165. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpediatrics.2010.277.
Schneiderman, J. U., Leslie, L. K., Arnold-Clark, J. S., McDaniel, D., & Xie, B. (2011). Pediatric health assessments of young children in child welfare by placement type. Child Abuse and Neglect, 35, 29–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2010.06.007.
Simmel, C. (2007). Risk and protective factors contributing to the longitudinal psychosocial well-being of adopted foster children. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 15(4), 237–249. https://doi.org/10.1177/10634266070150040501.
Sprang, G., Craig, C. D., Clark, J. J., Vergon, K., Staton-Tindall, M., Cohen, J., & Gurwitch, R. (2013). Factors impacting the completion of trauma-focused treatments: what can make a difference? Tramatology, 19(1), 28–40. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534765612445931.
Stacks, A. M., Beeghly, M., Partridge, T., & Dexter, C. (2011). Effects of placement type on the language development trajectories of maltreated children from infancy to early childhood. Child Maltreatment, 16(4), 287–299. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077559511427957.
Steinberg, A. M., Brymer, M., Decker, K., & Pynoos, R. S. (2004). The UCLA PTSD reaction index. Current Psychiatry Reports, 6, 96–100. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.21780.
Steinberg, A. M., Brymer, M. J., Kim, S., Briggs, E. C., Ippen, C. G., Ostrowski, S. A., Gully, K. J., & Pynoos, R. S. (2013). Psychometric properties of the UCLA PTSD reaction index: part I. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 26(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.21780.
Stronach, E., Toth, S. L., Rogosch, F., Oshri, A., Manly, J., & Cicchetti, D. (2011). Child maltreatment, attachment security, and internal representations of mother and mother-child relationships. Child Maltreatment, 16(2), 137–145. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077559511398294.
Summers, A. (2015). Disproportionality rates for children of color in foster care (fiscal year 2013). Retrieved from National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges website: http://www.ncjfcj. http://www.ncjfcj.org/Dispro-TAB-2013.
Taussig, H. N., & Clyman, R. B. (2011). The relationship between time spent living with kin and adolescent functioning in youth with a history of out-of-home placement. Child Abuse & Neglect, 35(1), 78–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2010.09.001.
Trickey, D., Siddaway, A. P., Meiser-Stedman, R., Serpell, L., & Field, A. P. (2012). A meta-analysis of risk factors for post-traumatic stress disorder in children and adolescents. Clinical Psychology Review, 32(2), 122–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2011.12.001.
Tyler, S., Allison, K., & Winsler, A. (2006). Child neglect: developmental consequences, intervention, and policy implications. Child & Youth Care Forum, 35, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-005-9000-9.
U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2007). African American Children in foster care: additional HHS assistance needed to help states reduce the proportion in care. Retrieved from http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07816.pdf.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families,Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau. (2013). Child maltreatment 2012. Retrieved from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/research-data-technology/statistics-research/child-maltreatment.
Van den Dries, L., Juffer, F., van IJzendoorn, M. H., & Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J. (2009). Fostering security? A meta-analysis of attachment in adopted children. Children and Youth Services Review, 31(3), 410–421. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2008.09.008.
Walsh, W. A. (2013). Informal kinship care most common out-of-home placement after an investigation of child maltreatment. The Carsey Institute at the Scholars’ Repository. Paper 189. Retrieved from http://scholars.unh.edu/carsey/189.
Wamser-Nanney, R., & Vandenberg, B. R. (2013). Empirical support for the definition of a complex trauma event in children and adolescents. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 26(6), 671–678. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.21857.
Winokur, M., Holtan, A., & Batchelder, K. E. (2014). Kinship care for the safety, permanency, and well-being of children removed from the home for maltreatment. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 1, 1–240. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD006546.pub3.
Winokur, M., Holtan, A., & Valentine, D. (2009). Kinship care for the safety, permanency, and well-being of children removed from the home for maltreatment. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 1, 1–171. https://doi.org/10.4073/csr.2009.1.
Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge the 56 centers within the NCTSN that have contributed data to the Core Data Set as well as the staff, children, youth, and families at NCTSN centers throughout the United States that have made this collaborative network possible. We also thank our colleagues and partners at CMHS/SAMHSA for their leadership and guidance.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
This manuscript was developed (in part) under grant numbers 2U79SM054284 and 1SM080034-01 from the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The views, policies, and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of CMHS, SAMHSA or USDHHS. On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author state that there is no conflict of interest.
Ethical Standards and Informed Consent
All study procedures and methods complied with the Duke University Health System and Alliant International University Institutional Review Boards.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Beyerlein, B.A., Briggs, E.C., Vivrette, R.L. et al. Examination of Child Placement, Emotional, Behavioral and Attachment Problems Among Children with Caregiver-Perpetrated Trauma Histories. Journ Child Adol Trauma 12, 245–255 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-018-0206-z
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-018-0206-z