Placement disruption and negative placement outcomes among adolescents in long-term foster care: The role of behavior problems
Abstract
Objective This study examined risk of placement disruption and negative placement outcomes (e.g., residential treatment and incarceration) among adolescents placed in traditional family foster care for a year or longer. A foster parent's report of externalizing behavior problems was expected to be a stronger predictor of disruption and negative outcomes than a caseworker's report. Additionally, the association between behavior problems and placement disruption was expected to be mediated by the youth's degree of belonging and integration in the foster home. Method The caseworkers and foster parents of 179 randomly selected 12-13-year-old adolescents placed in traditional foster care were interviewed by telephone. Interviews included standardized measures of externalizing behavioral problems and several other variables that have been previously associated with placement movement. Disruption from the youth's foster home at the time of the interview was prospectively tracked for 5 years. Results Over half of the youth experienced a disruption of their placement. Contrary to expectations, behavior problems as reported by caseworkers, but not foster parents, were predictive of placement disruption. However, the foster parent's report of behavior problems predicted risk of negative outcome after a period of 5 years. As hypothesized, integration in the foster home was highly predictive of placement stability and mediated the association between behavior problems and risk of disrupti…
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Studies measure separation differently: some compare placement alone with placement with at least one sibling, while others compare separation from at least one sibling with placement with all identified siblings.
“In measuring separation, some studies focus on placement alone versus placement with at least one sibling (Barth et al., 2007; Leathers, 2006); others measure separation from at least one sibling versus placement with all identified siblings (Sattler et al., 2018).”
From Sibling Separation and Placement Instability for Children in Foster Care (2022) · cites this paper as Leathers, 2006
Few studies specifically modeled placement disruptions or non-progress moves rather than any placement change.
“Lastly, few studies specifically modeled placement disruptions, or non-progress moves (versus any placement change; for exceptions, see: Font et al., 2018; Leathers, 2006; Sattler et al., 2018).”
From Sibling Separation and Placement Instability for Children in Foster Care (2022) · cites this paper as Leathers, 2006
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References 51 · Cited by 204
- Authors
- Leathers, S. J.
- Affiliations
- University of Illinois Chicago (US)
- Corresponding author
- Leathers, Sonya J.
- ORCID
- Leathers, Sonya J.
- Venue
- Child Abuse & Neglect
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2006-03
- Volume
- 30
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 307-324
- ISSN
- 0145-2134 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1989176675
- Cited by
- 204
- References
- 51
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 21 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 13
- FWCI
- 12.82
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Child Abuse & Neglect (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- University of Chicago
- National Institute of Mental Health (K01MH070580)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Child Welfare and Adoption
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Homelessness and Social Issues
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Crime Patterns and Interventions
- Keywords
- placement disruption, long-term foster care, adolescents, externalizing problems, sense of belonging, placement stability, residential treatment, incarceration, placement outcomes, foster youth, mediation, risk assessment, service planning, family foster care, child welfare workers, foster parents
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Child Behavior Disorders, Female, Foster Home Care, Humans, Male, Parent-Child Relations, Prospective Studies, Time Factors, Case Management
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