1. A comparison of mental health problems in kinship and nonkinship foster care Presentation by Kemi Ayanfalu Alec Locascio Amy Holtan, John A. Rønning, Bjørn Helge Handegård, André Sourander. (2005). A comparison of mental health problems in kinship and nonkinship foster care. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 14(4), 200-7

2. Introduction 13% of children in state care are living in kinship care 3 Purposes of Study –1. Compare kinship factors in foster care vs non foster care. –2. Compare prevalence of mental health problems in kinship and nonkinship foster care. –3. Study associations between psychiatric problems and placement factors. Amy Holtan, John A. Rønning, Bjørn Helge Handegård, André Sourander. (2005). A comparison of mental health problems in kinship and nonkinship foster care. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 14(4), 200-7

3. Methods Participants –214 children in the study, 124 of whom were in kinship foster care –Ages 4-13 –Controlled for variables: age, gender, and duration in present care and age at first out-of-home placement there were no significant difference between kinship vs. nonkinship differences. Measure –The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) is a 120-item questionnaire which is completed by parents or guardians (foster parents) –Within the previous 6 months researchers looked at these variables: Withdrawn Behavior, Somatic Complaints, Anxiety/Depressed Behavior, Delinquent Behavior, Aggressive Behavior, Social Problems, Thought Problems, Attention Problems and Sex Problems. Amy Holtan, John A. Rønning, Bjørn Helge Handegård, André Sourander. (2005). A comparison of mentalhealth problems in kinship and nonkinship foster care. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 14(4), 200-7

4. Results The kinship group had fewer previous out-of-home placements and were more stable then non-kin ship groups. The kinship group scored significantly higher than the nonkinship group on Total Competence and School Competence scales and lower on the CBCL scales; Total Problems, Withdrawn Behavior Social Problems, Attention Problems an Delinquent Behavior scales. Boys and children placed outside their birth community in both kinship and nonkinship foster care scored significantly lower than girls on Total Competence, School Competence and Social Competence and higher on all CBCL scales except Somatic Complaints, Anxiety/Depressed Behavior and Sex Problems. –CBLC cutoff points were based on Swedish normative data. Amy Holtan, John A. Rønning, Bjørn Helge Handegård, André Sourander. (2005). A comparison of mental health problems in kinship and nonkinship foster care. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 14(4), 200-7

5. Criticisms of Research Participants represent a very specific group –Norwegian youngsters ages 4-13 Researchers only have one point of view – that of the foster parent. –The CVCL reflects one specific view on the child. Cross-sectional –Cannot observe why differences between kinship/nonkinship Amy Holtan, John A. Rønning, Bjørn Helge Handegård, André Sourander. (2005). A comparison of mental health problems in kinship and nonkinship foster care. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 14(4), 200-7

6. Multiple Choice 1. Who scored higher on the Total Competence Test? a. women b. men c. both scored equally. 2. Where was the study done? a.Norway b. Nigeria c. Los Angeles 3. What was not one of our criticisms of the study? a.Participants are too homogeneous. b. Foster parents have potential biases. c.The survey questions had poor reliability. Amy Holtan, John A. Rønning, Bjørn Helge Handegård, André Sourander. (2005). A comparison of mental health problems in kinship and nonkinship foster care. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 14(4), 200-7

7. Multiple Choice (cont.) 4. True/False – The nonkinship group had fewer out of home placements than the kinship group. 5. True/False – The researchers were specifically looking for differences in frequency of mental disorders of foster care facilities in Norway and Sweden.