The Effects of Perceived Caregiver Quality on the Development of Depression in Foster Youth

Background and purpose:

Children involved in the child welfare system often have increased difficulty with depression and internalized behaviors due to changes in home environment and lack of a positive consistent social network. Placement setting types may play a differential role in depressive symptomology according to perceived levels of quality caregiver support.  Youth who are removed from their homes and placed in out of home, non-kinship placements and those placed with relatives through kinship placements may have varying mental health and behavioral outcomes than those living in birth or adoptive homes. Social network theory posits the existence of a positive social network may mitigate depressive symptoms.  Social network theory is based on the linkages between people who can be accessed to provide differing levels of support.  Emotional support is the most important support within a social network because it involves empathy, love and caring for a person within the network. Maltreated children’s social networks may represent a set of positive, strength-based relationships serving as a buffer against the development of depression.  This research focuses on the impact of emotional support from caregivers among children placed in three types of home settings.

Methods:

This study presents OLS regressions using longitudinal data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW II) to examine how perceived quality of support from caregivers predicts scores on the Child Depression Inventory (CDI).  Support domains were arrived at using factor analyses, resulting in two factors measuring latent constructs of ‘quality of time spent’ and ‘closeness’ to caregivers.  The type of foster care placement (kinship, foster care, or in-home care) was assessed as possible moderators in the relationship between levels of support and depression scores, as well as internalized behavior scores.  Covariates included maltreatment type, race, age and gender. 

Results:

Results from the full model (n= 700) indicate a significant interaction effect, with children who report spending more quality time with their caregivers in both kinship and foster care settings have lower depression scores than children living in their biological homes. Physical neglect is a stronger predictor of lower depression scores than the other included maltreatment types.  There is a buffering effect of spending quality time for kids in out of home placement than indicated for those living in their original homes.  Quality time spent with caregivers has a positive effect on internalized behaviors, resulting in lowered scores ( = -0.13, p < 0.01) Overall, quality time predicted lowered scores ( = -0.13, p < 0.03) on the internalized behavior scale.  Children reporting more closeness to their caregiver in kinship care settings have slightly higher internalized behaviors than those living in their original homes ( = 0.07, p < 0.01).  

Implications for Practice:

Practitioners should consider the positive aspects of a child’s existing social network, particularly perceived quality support from caregivers to reduce the likelihood for depressive symptomology and internalized behaviors according to the placement setting type.  There are complex dynamics regarding children’s perceptions of caregiver support when living with relatives, yet not with their parents.