A Positive Youth Development Approach to Improving Mental Health Outcomes for Maltreated Children in Foster Care: Replication and Extension of an RCT of the Fostering Healthy Futures Program

Intervention research often gauges success through reduction in the use of subsequent mental health services, operationalized by decreased inpatient hospitalization, emergency room visits, and/or psychotropic medication use.

“Also at the system-level, intervention research often gauges success through reduction in the use of subsequent mental health services, operationalized by decreased inpatient hospitalization (e.g., Hansen et al., 2011), emergency room visits, and/or psychotropic medication use (e.g., Hilt et al., 2015, Taussig et al., 2019).”

Two quantitative studies found that mentored young people in foster care manifested improved social skills, mental health, quality of life, and greater trust in others than did foster care boys and girls in control groups, but mentees in foster care had shorter matches than mentees not in foster care.

“Although two quantitative studies have found that mentored young people in foster care manifested improved social skills, mental health, quality of life, social skills, and greater trust in others than did foster care boys and girls in control groups [147,148,149] found that mentees in foster care had shorter matches than mentees not in foster care.”

Three evaluations of two interventions assessed quality of life with child-reported measures at short and long-term follow-up.

“Three evaluations of two interventions assessed quality of life with child-reported measures at short and long-term follow-up (Crespo et al., 2020; Taussig & Culhane, 2010; Taussig et al., 2019).”

One common outcome in mental health intervention research with foster youth focuses on reductions in psychopathology and diagnostic symptoms.

“One common outcome in mental health intervention research with foster youth focuses on reductions in psychopathology and diagnostic symptoms (e.g., Burns et al., 1999; Taussig et al., 2019; Weiner et al., 2009; Kessler et al., 2008).”

Fostering Healthy Futures evaluations showed evidence of fewer dissociative symptoms at 6-month follow-up (d = −0.29, 95% CI [−0.50, −0.09] in the 2010 evaluation).

“with evidence of fewer dissociative symptoms at 6-month follow up in a 2010 (d = −0.29, 95% CI [−0.50, −0.09]) and a linked 2019 evaluation of Fostering Healthy Futures (Taussig & Culhane, 2010; Taussig et al., 2019)”

No significant differences were observed in long-term quality of life measures in a later extension of the Fostering Healthy Futures study.

“there were no significant differences observed in long-term quality of life measures in a later extension of the same study (Taussig et al., 2019).”