IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/cysrev/v170y2025ics0190740925000465.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Socioeconomic and psychosocial conditions of parents with children in out-of-home care: A qualitative systematic review

Author

Listed:
  • Ross, Sydney
  • Jackisch, Josephine
  • Almquist, Ylva B

Abstract

Families who have contact with child welfare services (CWS) often face a number of socioeconomic and psychosocial challenges, which may have led to the parents being unable to adequately care for their children. To date, understandings regarding the parents’ socioeconomic and psychosocial conditions after the placement of a child are limited. A database search of PubMed, Sociological abstract, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science was performed to identify studies that investigate the socioeconomic and psychosocial conditions of parents with children in OHC published between January 1, 1980 and November 20, 2021. Of 19,750 screened articles, 51 qualitative articles met the inclusion criteria. Emerging themes relating to parents’ subjective experiences were synthesized into three overarching themes: (1) experiencing a loss, (2) living a fragile reality, and (3) opportunity for change. The results demonstrate that more support is needed for parents as the placement of their child is a challenging time that places stress on their psychosocial and socioeconomic conditions, no matter the reason for placement. With the right support, positive adaptations could be possible.

Suggested Citation

  • Ross, Sydney & Jackisch, Josephine & Almquist, Ylva B, 2025. "Socioeconomic and psychosocial conditions of parents with children in out-of-home care: A qualitative systematic review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:170:y:2025:i:c:s0190740925000465
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108163
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740925000465
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108163?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Baum, Nehami & Negbi, Irit, 2013. "Children removed from home by court order: Fathers' disenfranchised grief and reclamation of paternal functions," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(10), pages 1679-1686.
    2. Healy, Karen & Venables, Jemma & Walsh, Tamara, 2023. "Supporting birth parents’ relationships with children following removal: A scoping review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    3. Kenny, Kathleen S. & Barrington, Clare, 2018. "“People just don't look at you the same way”: Public stigma, private suffering and unmet social support needs among mothers who use drugs in the aftermath of child removal," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 209-216.
    4. Crettenden, Angela & Wright, Annemarie & Beilby, Erin, 2014. "Supporting families: Outcomes of placement in voluntary out-of-home care for children and young people with disabilities and their families," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 57-64.
    5. Straatmann, Viviane S. & Rajesh, Tanishta & Bennett, Davara & Forsman, Hilma & Liu, Can & Taylor-Robinson, David & Brännström, Lars & Melis, Gabriella & Schlüter, Daniela K. & Jackisch, Josephine & Al, 2024. "Socioeconomic and psychosocial outcomes of parents with children in out-of-home care: A scoping review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    6. Gilbert, Neil, 2012. "A comparative study of child welfare systems: Abstract orientations and concrete results," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 532-536.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bywaters, Paul & Brady, Geraldine & Sparks, Tim & Bos, Elizabeth & Bunting, Lisa & Daniel, Brigid & Featherstone, Brid & Morris, Kate & Scourfield, Jonathan, 2015. "Exploring inequities in child welfare and child protection services: Explaining the ‘inverse intervention law’," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 98-105.
    2. Garcia Quiroga, Manuela & Hamilton-Giachritsis, Catherine, 2014. "“In the name of the children”: Public policies for children in out-of-home care in Chile. Historical review, present situation and future challenges," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 422-430.
    3. Semanchin Jones, Annette & Kim, JaeRan & Hill, Katharine & Diebold, Josal, 2018. "Voluntary placements in child welfare: A comparative analysis of state statutes," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 387-394.
    4. Hidalgo, Victoria & Jiménez, Lucía & Grimaldi, Víctor & Ayala-Nunes, Lara & López-Verdugo, Isabel, 2018. "The effectiveness of a child day-care program in child welfare services," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 145-151.
    5. Venables, Jemma & Healy, Karen & Harrison, Gai, 2015. "From investigation to collaboration: Practitioner perspectives on the transition phase of parental agreements," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 9-16.
    6. Vandesande, Sien & Fluyt, Laura & Maes, Bea, 2024. "The art of balancing: Exploring the emotional experience of parents considering a transition to residential care for their child with severe disabilities," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    7. Schönfelder, Walter & Holmgaard, Sanne, 2019. "Representations of child welfare services in Norwegian, Danish and German newspapers," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 89-97.
    8. Tina Gerdts-Andresen & Anette Ødegård Eriksen, 2025. "Understanding a Parent’s Visitation Capacity After a Care Order," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-16, April.
    9. Hood, Rick & Goldacre, Allie, 2021. "Exploring the impact of Ofsted inspections on performance in children’s social care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    10. Davies, Kate & Ross, Nicola & Cocks, Jessica & Foote, Wendy, 2023. "Family inclusion in child protection: Knowledge, power and resistance," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    11. Björkas, Robin & Lindroth, Malin & Richert, Torkel, 2024. "Child welfare workers’ understanding of young people’s sexual health when conducting assessments due to substance use problems," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    12. Dare, Julie & Wilkinson, Celia & Karthigesu, Shantha P. & Coall, David A. & Marquis, Ruth, 2023. "Keeping the family: A socio-ecological perspective on the challenges of child removal and reunification for mothers who have experienced substance-related harms," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    13. Hill, Katharine, 2017. "Prevalence, experiences, and characteristics of children and youth who enter foster care through voluntary placement agreements," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 62-70.
    14. Onayemi, Olayinka Modupe & Aderinto, Adeyinka Abeeden, 2019. "Factors influencing child placement in adoption practices in South Western Nigeria: In the best interest of the child?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 167-174.
    15. Davidson, Ryan D. & Tomlinson, Claire S. & Beck, Connie J. & Bowen, Anne M., 2019. "The revolving door of families in the child welfare system: Risk and protective factors associated with families returning," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 468-479.
    16. Nigel Ashmore Parton, 2022. "Comparative Research and Critical Child Protection Studies," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-15, April.
    17. Busschers, Inge & van Vugt, E.S. & Stams, G.J.J.M., 2016. "Case management for child protection services: A multi-level evaluation study," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 169-177.
    18. Lisbeth Loft, 2022. "The importance of child characteristics: children’s health and mothers’ subsequent childbearing," Journal of Population Research, Springer, vol. 39(4), pages 599-616, December.
    19. Portmann, Rahel & Mitrovic, Tanja & Gonthier, Hakim & Kosirnik, Céline & Knüsel, René & Jud, Andreas, 2022. "Do socio-structural factors influence the incidence and reporting of child neglect? An analysis of multi-sectoral national data from Switzerland," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    20. Thomas Akintayo, 2021. "Options for Africa’s Child Welfare Systems from Nigeria’s Unsustainable Multicultural Models," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-19, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:170:y:2025:i:c:s0190740925000465. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/childyouth .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.