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Children's mental health and its predictors in kinship and non-kinship foster care: A systematic review

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  • Xu, Yanfeng
  • Bright, Charlotte Lyn

Abstract

The purpose of this systematic review is to compare the associations of kinship care and non-kinship care with children's mental health and to examine the factors associated with children's mental health in kinship care and non-kinship foster care. A comprehensive search was conducted in nine databases, and 237 articles were identified yielding eight studies that met criteria. Study designs, sample characteristics, methodologies, and results were collected and entered into data matrices and data was analyzed narratively. This review found that children in kinship care exhibited better mental health outcomes than children in non-kinship care in the univariate and bivariate comparisons. However, the associations between kinship care and children's mental health in regression models were mixed across studies. The associations depended on research designs (cross-sectional or prospective longitudinal design) and whether statistical models addressed selection bias and controlled for confounders. This review also identified that child maltreatment related factors, placement related factors, child level factors, foster caregiver level factors, foster family environmental level factors, and neighborhood level factors were associated with foster children's mental health. Some implications for practice and research were discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Xu, Yanfeng & Bright, Charlotte Lyn, 2018. "Children's mental health and its predictors in kinship and non-kinship foster care: A systematic review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 243-262.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:89:y:2018:i:c:p:243-262
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.05.001
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Osborne, Jennifer & Hindt, Lauren A. & Lutz, Nathan & Hodgkinson, Nicole & Leon, Scott C., 2021. "Placement stability among children in kinship and non-kinship foster placements across multiple placements," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    2. Jedwab, Merav & Xu, Yanfeng & Shaw, Terry V., 2020. "Kinship care first? Factors associated with placement moves in out-of-home care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    3. Kelley, Susan J. & Whitley, Deborah M. & Lamis, Dorian A., 2023. "An intervention to improve the well-being of families in which African American grandmothers are raising grandchildren: A longitudinal mediation analysis," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    4. Xu, Yanfeng & Man, Xiaoou & Zhang, Lixia & DeForge, Bruce, 2020. "Family foster care and children’s outcomes in China: Evidence from a scoping review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    5. Dorval, Amilie & Lamothe, Josianne & Hélie, Sonia & Poirier, Marie-Andrée, 2020. "Different profiles, different needs: An exploration and analysis of characteristics of children in kinship care and their parents," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    6. Schoemaker, Nikita K. & Juffer, Femmie & Rippe, Ralph C.A. & Vermeer, Harriet J. & Stoltenborgh, Marije & Jagersma, Gabrine J. & Maras, Athanasios & Alink, Lenneke R.A., 2020. "Positive parenting in foster care: Testing the effectiveness of a video-feedback intervention program on foster parents’ behavior and attitudes," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    7. Jill R. McTavish & Christine McKee & Masako Tanaka & Harriet L. MacMillan, 2022. "Child Welfare Reform: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-24, October.
    8. Xu, Yanfeng & Bright, Charlotte Lyn & Ahn, Haksoon & Huang, Hui & Shaw, Terry, 2020. "A new kinship typology and factors associated with receiving financial assistance in kinship care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    9. Gómez, Anthony, 2021. "Associations between family resilience and health outcomes among kinship caregivers and their children," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).

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