The association between perception of relationship with caregivers and behaviours of youth in foster care: a child and caregiver perspective

The transition into foster care can be difficult for children. Research has consistently shown an increased risk for children in foster care to exhibit higher levels of problem behaviours in comparison to youth in the general population. The purpose of this study was to analyse the associations between the youths' perception of their relationship with their caregiver on their perception of their own internalizing and externalizing behaviours as well as the youths' perception of the relationships with caregivers and how caregivers report of youths' internalizing and externalizing behaviours. This study utilized the secondary data from the general release version of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being [National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (2009) Introduction to the wave 1 general and restricted use releases, Nation Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect, Ithaca, NY]. Significant relationships between youths' perception of relationship with their caregiver were found with both youth perception of internalizing behaviours and caregiver perception of internalizing and externalizing behaviours. Results are explained with implications for practice, training, research and policy.     

Behavior problems and children's academic achievement: A test of growth-curve models with gender and racial differences

The aim of this study was to examine the longitudinal association between externalizing and internalizing behavior and children's academic achievement, particularly in terms of whether these variables varied as a function of gender and race. Data pertaining to externalizing and internalizing behavior, academic achievement, gender, and race from three waves of the Child Development Supplement of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (N = 2028) were used. Results indicate that behavior problems had a negative relationship with academic performance and some of these associations endured over time. Externalizing behavior impacted reading scores more negatively for females compared to males at baseline, but the impact of externalizing behavior on long-term reading outcomes did not vary by gender. Externalizing behavior impacted reading scores more negatively for Black children than White children at multiple points in time. Differences between males, females, Black, and White children concerning behavior and achievement are explained. Implications, limitations, and ideas for future research are also presented.     

Concurrent child history and contextual predictors of children's internalizing and externalizing behavior problems in foster care

This study contributes to current research on the behavior problems of children in foster care by analyzing a more comprehensive set of concurrent child history and contextual predictors. Kinship home status and sibling status (i.e., whether the sibling is a biological sibling to the foster child) were evaluated as moderators of significant associations. Data were collected at the baseline of a foster parent training intervention program prior to any intervention services using parent phone interviews (N = 310, 51.6% male, M age = 7.57 years). Two linear hierarchical regressions were used to evaluate each set of predictors' association with behavior problems as well as each individual predictor's contribution. Results indicated that as a set, the contextual variables predicted a significant and unique amount of variability in the child's internalizing and externalizing behavior scores, whereas the child history variables did not. Specifically, the child's placement in a non-kinship home, being in a non-ethnically matched child-parent pair, higher parent stress scores, a greater number of prior group home placements, and higher internalizing behavior scores for the child predicted higher child externalizing scores. Higher parent stress scores, higher focal sibling externalizing behavior scores, and higher externalizing behavior scores for the child predicted higher internalizing scores for the child. The association between focal sibling externalizing behavior scores and child internalizing scores was moderated by kinship home status, such that there was a stronger association between the focal sibling's externalizing score and the child's internalizing score if the child was in a kinship compared to a non-kinship home. Implications for intervention services are discussed, particularly the importance of assessing the child's foster home environment when addressing the child's behavior problems.     

The Effects of a Family Systems Intervention on Co‐Occurring Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors of Children with Substance Abusing Mothers: A Latent Transition Analysis

Children of substance abusing parents are at heightened risk to develop problem behaviors, yet little is known about the co‐occurring patterns of internalizing and externalizing behaviors among this population. With 183 children (M age = 11.54 years, SD = 2.55, range 8–16) whose mothers were diagnosed with a substance use disorder, the current study identified subgroups/classes of children that were clinically distinct in their co‐occurring patterns of internalizing and externalizing behaviors, and examined how children in different clinical subgroups responded to a family systems intervention. Latent class analyses identified four classes of internalizing and externalizing behaviors: internalizing only, externalizing only, comorbid, and normative. Latent transition analyses showed that participation in family systems therapy resulted in an increased likelihood of transitioning from the externalizing class at baseline to the normative class at 18 months post‐baseline, and from the comorbid class at baseline to the internalizing class at 18 months post‐baseline as well. The findings support the effectiveness of family systems therapy in interrupting the stability of children's problem behaviors and improving children's behavioral outcomes.     

Residential mobility predicts behavioral problems for children living in non-parental care during the transition to kindergarten

The present study examines the extent to which residential mobility during the transition to kindergarten (cumulative moves during prekindergarten and kindergarten) is related to externalizing and internalizing behavior problems for children from low-income families who are living in non-parental care. A second, exploratory aim of this study was to investigate whether family service receipt moderated these relations. Data were obtained from the Head Start Impact Study. The sample included 300 children (53% male) who were eligible for Head Start. Residential mobility was conceptualized as three dichotomous variables: never moved, moved 1–2 times, and moved 3 or more times during the prekindergarten and kindergarten years. Predictor and outcome data were collected in the spring of prekindergarten and kindergarten. Moving three or more times was significantly related to more externalizing and internalizing behavior problems in kindergarten, controlling for family and child covariates, as well as for children's behavior problems in prekindergarten. Receipt of family services moderated the association between moving three or more times and externalizing problems, but not internalizing problems. This relation was in the opposite direction than expected, however, such that children who moved frequently and received more services demonstrated more externalizing problems than their peers. Implications of study findings for supporting highly mobile children living in non-parental care and directions for future research are discussed.     

Associations of Mothers' Friendship Quality with Adolescents' Friendship Quality and Emotional Adjustment

Little research has examined the association of parents' friendships with adolescent's well‐being, perhaps because the association was considered too distal. However, developmental theories suggest that contexts in which parents, but not their children, are situated may be related to child development (Bronfenbrenner, 1979 , 1986 ). The current work examined associations between the quality of mothers' own friendships and their adolescent children's friendship quality and emotional adjustment. Fifth‐, eighth‐, and eleventh‐graders (N = 172) whose mothers' friendships were characterized by conflict and antagonism reported having friendships that were high in negative friendship qualities as well as elevated internalizing symptoms. These associations held after controlling for mother–child relationship quality, suggesting that mothers' friendships may have a unique association with adolescents' adjustment.     

Exploring Gender Differences on Internalizing and Externalizing Behavior Among Maltreated Youth: Implications for Social Work Action

This purpose of this study was to explore the moderating influence of gender on the relationship between child maltreatment and internalizing symptoms (e.g., affective and somatic problems) and externalizing behavior (e.g., rule breaking behavior and aggression) among children aged 7–12 years old. Using a longitudinal comparison group design and a sample of 300 youth of which 56% (n = 168) had substantiated cases of child maltreatment, results of a structural equation modeling revealed that internalizing symptoms exerted a mediating influence that was conditioned by gender. Only girls’ internalizing symptoms were found to mediate the link between child maltreatment and externalizing behavior while a direct relationship between maltreatment and externalizing behavior was found among boys. These findings provide evidence for gender differences in the pathways between being child maltreatment and maladaptive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Thus, adapting evidence-based strategies that target gender specific internalizing behaviors and externalizing behaviors among maltreated youth may significantly reduce the risk of short and long-term maladaptive behavior.     

Mother–child and teacher–child relationships and their influences on Chinese only and non-only children's early social behaviors: The moderator role of urban–rural status

Investigations regarding the differences between Chinese only and non-only children primarily examine children's social behaviors, which are closely related to their early relationships with mothers and teachers. In recent years, the number of non-only children born in urban areas has increased because of the softening of the One-Child Policy, which leads to the distribution of non-only children shifting from being primarily in rural areas to being in both urban and rural areas. The present study investigates the current characteristics and influences of mother–child and teacher–child relationships on Chinese only and non-only children's early social behaviors from the perspective of urban and rural differences. Data were obtained from 126 rural only children, 94 rural non-only children, 168 urban only children and 155 urban non-only children from 38 semi-urban kindergartens in Beijing, China. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses found that mother–child closeness positively predicted children's social skills particularly in non-only children, whereas mother–child conflict positively predicted internalizing behavior problems in all four groups. Teacher–child conflict negatively predicted children's social skills most strongly in urban only children. Teacher–child conflict aggravated rural only children's, urban only children's and non-only children's internalizing and externalizing behavior problems, but mother–child closeness buffered rural only children's externalizing behavior problems. Findings underscore the importance for mothers to improve closeness, especially with rural only children, and for teachers to avoid conflict with both urban only and non-only children, as well as with rural only children.     

Role of Parent and Peer Relationships and Individual Characteristics in Middle School Children's Behavioral Outcomes in the Face of Community Violence

This study examines processes linking inner‐city community violence exposure to subsequent internalizing and externalizing problems. Hypothesized risk and protective factors from 3 ecological domains—children's parent and peer relationships and individual characteristics—were examined for mediating, moderating, or independent roles in predicting problem behavior among 667 children over 3 years of middle school. Mediation was not found. However, parent and peer variables moderated the association between exposure and internalizing problems. Under high exposure, normally protective factors (e.g., attachment to parents) were less effective in mitigating exposure's effects than under low exposure; attachment to friends was more effective. Individual competence was independently associated with decreased internalizing problems. Variables from all domains, and exposure, were independently associated with externalizing problems. Protective factors (e.g., parent attachment) predicted decreased problems; risk factors (e.g., friends' delinquency) predicted increased problems. Results indicate community violence reduction as essential in averting inner‐city adolescents' poor behavioral outcomes.     

Moderating effects of race on internalizing and externalizing behaviors among children of criminal justice and child welfare involved mothers

This study examined whether the influences of multiple maternal criminal justice involvement (MCJI), community adversity, and violence exposure on children's internalizing and externalizing behaviors were moderated by race. The study included 409 children of criminal justice and child welfare involved mothers, ages 5–15 who participated in the National Survey on Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW). Results indicated that race, defined as Black vs. non-Black, moderated the associations between multiple MCJI and internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Decomposition of the regression effects indicated that non-Black children exposed to multiple MCJI, as compared to non-Black children who were not exposed to multiple MCJI, exhibited significant increases in both internalizing and externalizing behaviors, while Black children who experience multiple MCJI, on average, showed no increases. Similarly, race moderated the association between exposure to community adversity and externalizing behaviors. The decomposition of regression effects indicated that non-Black children who experienced higher levels of community adversity exhibited increases in externalizing behaviors, while Black children showed no increases. Criminal justice and child welfare practice and policy implications are discussed.     

Parents' Relationship Quality and Children's Behavior in Stable Married and Cohabiting Families

Although an extensive literature has shown that family structure is linked with child well‐being, less well understood is how the dynamics within families affect children, in particular the extent to which positive mother–father relationship quality is linked with children's outcomes. In this study the authors used data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 773) to examine how couple supportiveness in stable coresident families is related to children's externalizing and internalizing behavioral problems over ages 3 through 9. Using latent growth curve and fixed effects models, they found that parents' greater supportiveness has a slight association with lower levels of children's behavioral problems. Using cross‐lagged structural equation models to examine the direction of the association, they also found some evidence that parents' relationship quality and children's behavioral problems are reciprocally related. Overall, this study suggests that more positive couple interactions are beneficial for children residing with both of their biological parents.     

Positive Marital Quality,Acculturative Stress,and Child Outcomes Among Mexican Americans

Previous research suggests that the quality of parents' relationships can influence their children's adjustment, but most studies have focused on the negative effects of marital conflict for children in White middle‐class families. The current study focuses on the potential benefits of positive marital quality for children in working‐class first generation Mexican American families using observational and self‐report data. This study examined the links between positive marital quality and child internalizing and externalizing behaviors 1 year later when the child was in sixth grade (N = 134 families). Positive marital quality was negatively correlated with child internalizing behaviors. Parent acculturative stress was found to mediate the relationship between positive marital quality and child internalizing behaviors in sixth grade.     

Caregiver–Adolescent Dyadic Disagreement and Problem Behaviors of Adolescents in the Child Welfare System

Parents and adolescents often provide different ratings of youths' behavior problems, yet few studies have examined such disagreement and its effect on later adjustment, especially among at‐risk adolescents. The purpose of this study was to investigate, among a sample of adolescents in foster care, whether the degree of caregiver–adolescent disagreement on adolescents' internalizing problems would be associated with adolescent externalizing problem behaviors over time. Two measures of adolescent caregiver agreement, the Pearson's r and intraclass correlations, were used with data drawn from a nationally representative study of children on foster care. Growth curve analyses of 180 adolescents revealed that the higher adolescent and caregiver agreement on adolescents' internalizing problems at Wave I, the slower the increase in externalizing problems over time.     

Internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems of American Indian children in the child welfare system

Children involved in the child welfare system display elevated or clinically significant behavioral problems. However, there is a dearth of literature on the behavioral problems of American Indian children following child welfare involvement. Grounded in Patterson's Family Adjustment and Adaptation Response theory, this study fills that gap. Baseline, 18-month, and 36-month follow-up data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being were utilized. The sample (n = 3498) consisted of American Indian, African American, and Caucasian children ages 2–16 at baseline (M = 8.13 years old, SD = 3.85) and 51.7% were female. Nearest neighbor propensity score matching analyses were used to estimate the effect of race on clinically significant internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems. Findings suggest that although externalizing behavioral problems do not differ based on race after controlling for other important factors, internalizing behavioral problems do differ. American Indian children are more likely to display clinically significant internalizing behavioral problems.     

The Consequences of Parental Underestimation and Overestimation of Youth Exposure to Violence

This study investigated differences in parent and child estimates of the child's exposure to violence. Using data (N = 1,517) from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, analyses related differences between parent and child reports of the child's exposure to violence to the child's psychosocial functioning. Most parents (66%) underestimated their children's exposure to violence. Further, parental underestimation was associated with the child's internalizing and externalizing problems and delinquent behaviors but parental overestimation was not. Family support partially mediated these associations. Parental underestimation of the child's exposure to violence, therefore, reflected lower levels of family support, which in turn led to more internalizing and externalizing problems and delinquency for the child.     

Influence of Caregiver Substance Dependence and Serious Mental Illness on Children’s Mental Health: Moderating Effects of Social Support

This study examined the relationships between caregiver alcohol dependence, drug dependence, and serious mental illness and internalizing and externalizing behaviors and whether these risks were moderated by social support. The study included 3,225 children ages 2–17 and their current caregivers, who participated in the second cohort of the National Survey on Child and Adolescent Well-Being. Regression analysis indicated that caregiver alcohol dependence, serious mental illness, and social support were significantly associated with internalizing behaviors and caregiver serious mental illness and social support were significantly associated with externalizing behaviors. Results indicated that social support moderated the associations between caregiver alcohol dependence and internalizing and caregiver drug dependence and externalizing behaviors. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.     

The development of a systematic approach to mental health screening in Child Advocacy Centers

We report on efforts to implement a new protocol of mental health screening for children seen in Child Advocacy Centers (CACs), including the results from the first year of implementation with 1685 families. The parent-reported child screening results (obtained on 46.3% of children) indicate that while many children were not experiencing significant symptoms of internalizing or externalizing problems, a subset of children had very elevated scores. At the one-week and one-month screening, consistent predictors of more severe internalizing problems included age, a parent or step-parent as the offender, and having been removed from the home. For externalizing problems, consistent predictors included Caucasian ethnicity and having been removed from the home. By the one-week follow-up, about half of those interviewed (50.8%) had entered counseling or had an appointment pending. The likelihood of initiating mental health services was increased when the alleged abuse type was sexual, when the child had been removed from the home, and when the child's internalizing and externalizing symptoms were more severe. Surveys of the CAC staff implementing the new process suggest that it helped them understand the needs of the children, though their ability to reach some families was a barrier to implementation.     

Co-development of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems during early childhood among child welfare-involved children

Using parallel-process latent growth curve modeling, we examine developmental trajectories of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems and identify early risk factors for behavior problems among 329 child welfare-involved children followed from age 2 years to 5 years. Data are drawn from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being II. On average, internalizing behavior problems remained stable, while externalizing behavior problems decreased over time. Higher initial levels of internalizing behavior problems were associated with higher initial levels of externalizing behavior problems. Rates of change also had positive cross-domain relationships. Child neglect, exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV), insecure caregiver-child attachment, and caregiver mental health problems were associated with higher initial levels of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Exposure to IPV, out-of-home care, and caregiver drug use predicted rates of change in behavior problems. Our findings highlight the importance of comprehensive assessment and treatment for co-occurring internalizing and externalizing behavior problems in young children involved in the child welfare system. Results also indicate the need for identifying and addressing early risk factors to prevent early onset and continued development of behavior problems in high-risk children.     

Behavioral adjustment of Chinese adoptees: The role of pre-adoption experiences

PurposeIn the current study we examined associations between children's pre-adoption experiences (type of pre-adoption care and early deprivation) and their adaptive and maladaptive behavioral adjustment. Associations with prosocial behavior, attention problems, internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems were investigated.MethodsParental ratings of pre-adoption experiences and behavioral adjustment of 891 adopted Chinese girls aged between 4 and 12 year were obtained. The children were adopted from institutional care (n = 595), foster care (n = 66) or a combination of institutional and foster care (n = 228). Prosocial behavior was assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Attention problems, internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems were assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist for ages 4–18 (CBCL). In addition to the main effects of pre-adoption experiences, we tested interaction effects between pre-adoption experiences and age at adoption, controlling for several family and child background variables.ResultsHierarchical regression analyses revealed that type of pre-adoption care was not associated with behavioral adjustment. Early deprivation, on the other hand, was negatively associated with prosocial behavior, and positively associated with attention problems, internalizing and externalizing problems. Interaction analyses revealed no significant associations.ConclusionsThe results showed that pre-adoption deprivation increased the risk for less optimal behavioral adjustment. The effects however were small, leaving room for other explaining factors both in the pre- and post-adoption environment of the child.     

Maternal Postpartum Depression Increases Vulnerability for Toddler Behavior Problems through Infant Cortisol Reactivity

The current study examined the role of hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal reactivity (a physiological indicator of stress) in early infancy as a mediator of the relationship between maternal postpartum depression and toddler behavior problems. Participants were 137 at‐risk mothers and their children participating in a longitudinal study of intergenerational transmission of risk. Mothers’ depression was measured five times during the infants’ first 18 months. Infant cortisol was collected during a social stressor (the still‐face paradigm) when infants were 6 months old, and mothers reported on toddlers’ internalizing and externalizing symptoms at 18 months. Among this sample of high‐risk mother–infant dyads, early postpartum depression predicted atypical infant cortisol reactivity at 6 months, which mediated the effect of maternal depression on increased toddler behavior problems. Clinical implications are discussed.