ARE SUPPORTIVE FOSTER CAREGIVERS ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVED FOSTER CARE ALUMNI OUTCOMES? A LONGITUDINAL EXAMINATION OF THE EFFECT OF SUPPORTIVE FOSTER CAREGIVERS ON MENTAL HEALTH OUTCOMES IN A NATIONALLY REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE

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Description

Foster youth are a vulnerable population associated with poor health outcomes, but relatively little research has identified factors that may mitigate adverse outcomes for these youth. The present study augments previous research by utilizing a nationally representative, longitudinal study (The... Show moreFoster youth are a vulnerable population associated with poor health outcomes, but relatively little research has identified factors that may mitigate adverse outcomes for these youth. The present study augments previous research by utilizing a nationally representative, longitudinal study (The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health or Add Health) to investigate whether foster youth in the United States face significantly different mental and behavioral health outcomes compared with same-age peers, and second, whether presence of a supportive foster caregiver may predict better mental and behavioral health outcomes in the foster youth subsample. Using data from Waves III and IV of the Add Health study (N = 12,288 participants, of which n = 282 were foster youth), analyses examined whether foster status and higher caregiver support was related to rates of depression symptoms, suicidal ideation, marijuana use, and alcohol use. Surprisingly, there were few differences between those with and without a foster history; higher frequency of marijuana use among foster youth was the only significant difference. However, analyses in the foster youth subsample indicated that the presence of a supportive caregiver was associated with lower rates of depression symptoms and lower endorsement of suicidal ideation, demonstrating caregiver support as a possible protective factor for foster youth. Future research must continue to explore potential benefits of caregiver support, as it may inform policy that can improve long-term outcomes for foster youth. Show less

Details
Department

PSYC / Psychology

Title

ARE SUPPORTIVE FOSTER CAREGIVERS ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVED FOSTER CARE ALUMNI OUTCOMES? A LONGITUDINAL EXAMINATION OF THE EFFECT OF SUPPORTIVE FOSTER CAREGIVERS ON MENTAL HEALTH OUTCOMES IN A NATIONALLY REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE

Institution

Illinois Institute of Technology

Creator(s)

Dunn, Megan Reeves

Advisor(s)

Legate, Nicole

Date

2021

Description

Foster youth are a vulnerable population associated with poor health outcomes, but relatively little research has identified factors that may mitigate adverse outcomes for these youth. The present... Show moreFoster youth are a vulnerable population associated with poor health outcomes, but relatively little research has identified factors that may mitigate adverse outcomes for these youth. The present study augments previous research by utilizing a nationally representative, longitudinal study (The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health or Add Health) to investigate whether foster youth in the United States face significantly different mental and behavioral health outcomes compared with same-age peers, and second, whether presence of a supportive foster caregiver may predict better mental and behavioral health outcomes in the foster youth subsample. Using data from Waves III and IV of the Add Health study (N = 12,288 participants, of which n = 282 were foster youth), analyses examined whether foster status and higher caregiver support was related to rates of depression symptoms, suicidal ideation, marijuana use, and alcohol use. Surprisingly, there were few differences between those with and without a foster history; higher frequency of marijuana use among foster youth was the only significant difference. However, analyses in the foster youth subsample indicated that the presence of a supportive caregiver was associated with lower rates of depression symptoms and lower endorsement of suicidal ideation, demonstrating caregiver support as a possible protective factor for foster youth. Future research must continue to explore potential benefits of caregiver support, as it may inform policy that can improve long-term outcomes for foster youth. Show less

Type

Thesis

File type

application/pdf

Subject

Psychology
Developmental psychology
depression
foster caregiver
foster youth
national longitudinal study of adolescent to adult health
relatedness
suicidal ideation

Access

Restricted Access

Rights

In Copyright
http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/

Identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/10560/islandora:1011805

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