Displaying 1 - 10 of 23
Abstract:
Although most youth served in residential group care are adolescents, empirical theories indicate that youth needs vary at different stages of adolescent development. These differences likely impact adolescents’ experiences and, ultimately, responses to treatment; a neglected research topic that may have implications for residential placement and services.
This study explored youth experiences in residential care at different stages of adolescence. A descriptive qualitative content analysis from a sample of 103 youths was used to classify open-ended text into…
Abstract:
A small but growing body of research suggests that adolescents and young adults involved with the child welfare system and those transitioning out of foster care are at heightened risk of experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV). Understanding the factors that place youth at risk of IPV is central to prevention and treatment of this public health problem. However, questions remain about the prevalence and correlates of IPV among youth in foster care. Additionally, emotional abuse, a particular form of IPV in intimate partnerships, remains an understudied area in this…
Childhood neglect is associated with impairment across multiple domains of development. Because types of neglect co-occur and are correlated with abuse, most research cannot address the specific effects of psychosocial neglect. This limitation matters because some scholars have advocated that child protection measures should be employed only when a child is physically endangered.
This report reviewed evidence for the effects of psychosocial neglect on development derived from studies of young children raised in U.S. institutions. In these caregiving environments, children are physically…
Family reunification occurs when migrants relocate without intact family units, and later reunite in new countries. Family serial migration and reunification is a global issue, relating to both voluntary and involuntary migrants who seek physical safety, psychological well-being, and economic self-sufficiency in new countries. Early studies alluded to a joyful family reconsolidation, while recent studies have found stressful reunions. This study provides an overview of the family reunification process of Latinx adolescents who have migrated to join their families in the United States.
The…
Typical large-group institutions for abandoned children or orphans are known to be bad for the development of children, but what about small-group care?
This report presents SOS Children’s Villages (SOSCV) as a natural and non-detrimental setting for abandoned children. In a random effects meta-analysis, the authors combined the scientific evidence on the physical and mental health of children growing up in SOSCV compared with peers growing up in typical institutions and in biological and foster families (N = 1,567). Results showed substantial developmental delays of SOSCV children…
The Barna Group conducted a survey of 3,000 U.S. Christians to understand their perceptions and support of orphanages.
The key objectives of this study were threefold: to estimate the total annual dollar amount that American Christians donate to residential care programs, to identify how Christians engage in short-term missions related to children in residential care programs, and to understand ways in which Christians are likely to engage in the near future, given the impact and constraints of COVID-19.
KEY FINDINGS
Donations
19% of survey…
Over the years, many reports, investigations, and assessments have shed light on the conditions that foster youth experience in institutional placements. For instance, a 2015 Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) report found that over 40% of children in institutions do not have a clinical reason for that acute of a setting (Children’s Bureau, 2015). A seminal study reported that residential treatment facilities lack oversight, and protective health and safety practices, and engage in substandard treatment, rights violations, and abuse (Behar et. al., 2007). Another study has shown…
Early-life adversity (ELA) is strongly associated with risk for psychopathology. Within adversity, deprivation (including institutionalization) and threat may lead to psychopathology through different intermediary pathways. Specifically, deprivation, defined as the absence of expected cognitive and social inputs, is associated with lower performance on complex cognitive tasks whereas threatening experiences, defined as the presence of experiences that reflect harm to the child, are associated with atypical fear learning and emotional processes. However, distinct associations of…
Abstract
The nature and consequences of threat in the caregiving environment have been widely studied and discussed. The construct of psychosocial neglect, however, has received less attention. In this paper, we advance a novel framework for examining the nature and consequences of neglect, which we posit can be represented as variations along a continuum from severe psychosocial neglect to environmental enrichment. Recognizing that caregiving is multi-dimensional, we conceptualize enriching input from caregivers as falling along two dimensions. Specifically, we propose that caregivers…
This report is divided into two parts. Part A focuses on the dangers that occur at Pennsylvania’s residential facilities when Pennsylvania is a county-based system, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (“PA-DHS”) fails to provide meaningful oversight. This section provides an overview of the current residential facility landscape in Pennsylvania and PA-DHS’s oversight structure for these facilities. It details the methodology that the reviewers used to analyze the oversight mechanisms for a sample of residential facilities in Pennsylvania and focuses on the dangers that children…