Comparing kin and non-kin foster parents' emotional investment in their young children

In 2003, there were reports of child maltreatment affecting over 5.5 million children in the United States. As a result of this epidemic, over 500,000 children are in foster care with an estimated additional 300,000 in voluntary kin placements. Because of a shortage of foster families and resources, Child Protective Services (CPS) agencies routinely seek and give priority to family members to serve as foster families to maltreated children. There is a large body of research that demonstrates that children in kinship care are often at greater risk than those children placed in non-kin foster homes, particularly in terms of poverty, sub-standard housing, and receiving less support from CPS. Studies of foster care dyads have demonstrated that the degree to which a foster mother is emotionally invested in her foster child is an important predictor in the success of the placement. This study examined differences in emotional investment in foster children between kin and non-kin foster parents. Its primary hypothesis was that kin foster parents would express less emotional investment in their foster children compared to non-kin foster parents. Multiple regression analyses confirmed this expectation.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Social Work

Grantor

Social Work

Year dc:date.available

2007

Author dc:creator

• Norwood, Rhonda

• Non-Kin foster parent
• commitment to child
• emotional invesmtent in child
• Kin Foster Parent

Statement dc:rights

• unrestricted
• Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Identifier

etd-07132007-093939
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/427

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.lsu.edu:gradschool_dissertations-1426