Elsevier

Child Abuse & Neglect

Volume 48, October 2015, Pages 92-103
Child Abuse & Neglect

Research article
Profiles and predictors of behavioral resilience among children in child welfare

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2015.04.018Get rights and content

Abstract

Children living in out-of-home care have experienced a multitude of adversities, often resulting in compromised functioning. The current study used Ontario Looking After Children (OnLAC) project data to estimate developmental trajectories of behavioral outcomes (i.e., conduct and emotional problems) over a 4-year period (i.e., ages 6–10 to 9–13) in 313 children living in out-of-home care. Predictors measured at baseline (e.g., sex) and across the subsequent 4-year period (e.g., parenting practices) were also investigated. Findings indicated that 64.2% and 58.6% followed resilient trajectories for conduct behaviors and emotional functioning, respectively. Predictors of resilient trajectories included internal developmental assets, number of children in the home, whether the child was receiving treatment, and positive parenting. Findings need to be interpreted with an understanding that children in out-of-home care have varying levels of functioning across various domains (e.g., educational, social) other than the ones measured here. Predictors were static and dynamic and cut across various contexts, emphasizing the importance of considering child functioning within an ecological model.

Introduction

Childhood maltreatment can have a detrimental impact on a number of domains including psychological, behavioral, social, and cognitive and language skills (Oswald, Heil, & Goldbeck, 2010). Such difficulties may continue into later life, if left unaddressed (Cicchetti, 2013). While empirical investigations have provided valuable information on the development and treatment of such outcomes, research has also begun to focus on those who function well despite experiences of adversity (Luthar, Cicchetti, & Becker, 2000). This concept, known as resilience, is defined as “the capacity of a dynamic system to withstand or recover from significant challenges that threaten its stability, viability, or development” (Masten, 2011, p. 494).

The study of resilience is applicable to children living in out-of-home care because they have experienced much adversity that could compromise their well-being (Sullivan & van Zyl, 2008). Children in out-of-home care tend to have higher rates of behavioral difficulties in comparison to maltreated children who remain in their homes and to non-maltreated children (Doyle, 2013, Sullivan and van Zyl, 2008). For instance, foster care children must face removal from their family in addition to a number of household transitions upon entering care, which have been linked to increased behavioral problems (McDonald, Allen, Westerfelt, & Piliaven, 1996).

Despite experiencing adversities, some children in out-of-home care exhibit resilience often defined as few behavioral problems or as satisfactory performance in age-salient developmental tasks (e.g., emotion regulation; Bell et al., 2013, Jaffee et al., 2007, Walsh et al., 2010). Resilient children do not necessarily excel in their behavioral functioning but rather function in the average range, typically defined as scoring at or close to the normative mean on behavioral measures (Luthar et al., 2000). Also, resilience may not remain stable over time, and resilience in one domain (e.g., academic performance), does not necessarily indicate resilience in other domains (e.g., social relationships; Cicchetti, 2013, Luthar et al., 2000, Walsh et al., 2010). Finally, resilience is influenced by both internal (e.g., self-efficacy) and external (e.g., nurturing caregivers) factors (Masten, 2006).

Research indicates varying rates of resilience among maltreated children, ranging from 9.2% (Flores, Cicchetti, & Rogosch, 2005) to 48% (Dumont, Widom, & Czaja, 2007). This variability is likely explained by the range of definitions and methodologies that have been used to assess positive adaptation. Studies have collected data from different informants (e.g., child, teachers, caregivers) over different time periods (e.g., childhood, adolescence, adulthood). Diverse forms of reporting (e.g., prospective, retrospective, longitudinal) have also been used.

Turning to resilience predictors, these can be organized by means of an ecological model (Belsky, 1980, Bronfenbrenner, 1979, Bronfenbrenner and Morris, 1998, Lynch and Cicchetti, 1998) into several levels that are nested within one another and that have varying degrees of proximity to the individual. Two of these levels exert more direct influences on children's development and functioning, namely the microsystem (e.g., family environment) and ontogenic development (individual characteristics that influence adaptation). Exosystem influences refer to settings that do not involve the individual (e.g. caregiver's workplace), while macrosystem influences include broader cultural values and beliefs. Interactions between settings in which an individual is actively involved can also occur, which refer to mesosystem influences.

Child and family factors (microsystem influences) related to better outcomes among children in out-of-home care include regular and consistent contact with biological parents, placement type, developmental assets, and parenting practices. Children who maintain quality contact with biological parents have better outcomes (Knott & Barber, 2005), and those living with kin generally have greater placement stability and better opportunities to maintain contact with their extended family, community, and culture (Barber & Delfabbro, 2004). However, it is important to note that recent research (Font, 2014) concluded that children's initial level of functioning might be a selection factor such that higher functioning children (i.e., lower baseline internalizing and externalizing behavior problems, and higher math and reading scores) have a higher likelihood of entering kinship care. Finally, an emerging finding is the impact that developmental assets can have on outcomes (Bell et al., 2013, Filbert and Flynn, 2010, Scales et al., 2000). Developmental assets represent internal (e.g., positive values) and external (e.g., boundaries/expectations) resources that contribute to a child's ability to thrive. Research has indicated that the greater the availability of these assets, the better a child's functioning is across a number of domains (Scales et al., 2000). For instance, Filbert and Flynn (2010) examined predictors (i.e., developmental assets, cultural assets) of prosocial behavior, self-esteem, educational performance, and behavioral difficulties among a sample of 97 10–17 year olds living in out-of-home care. The findings revealed that after controlling for sex, age, and cumulative risk, developmental assets significantly predicted a higher level of prosocial behavior, general self-esteem and educational performance, and a lower level of behavioral difficulties.

With regard to the foster family, a positive caregiver–child relationship, characterized by parenting practices that involve praise, communication, and consistency, is important for behavioral adaptation among children in out-of-home care (Cheung et al., 2011, Legault et al., 2006). Research investigating the impact of foster caregiver training and years of experience on children's outcomes is scarce (Festinger & Baker, 2013), and studies indicate mixed findings (Chamberlain et al., 2008, Nash and Flynn, 2009). However, these variables might lead to a greater ability to support foster children in their recovery from trauma-related difficulties. Finally, foster family household size may play a role in child outcomes through its influence on parenting practices. Fewer children in the household might provide caregivers with more time to devote to each child. Limited research has found that a greater number of children in a foster home contribute to greater placement disruptions (Chamberlain et al., 2006).

Although several studies have investigated the prevalence and predictors of resilience among maltreated children, fewer have tracked outcomes longitudinally (Dumont et al., 2007, Fergusson and Horwood, 2003, Helton and Bruhn, 2013, Jaffee et al., 2007, Jaffee and Gallop, 2007, Lansford et al., 2006, McGloin and Widom, 2001, Proctor et al., 2010). Among the studies that have followed child outcomes over time, findings generally indicate that a substantial proportion of maltreated children are resilient over time, and a number of child (e.g., sex) and family (e.g., stable household) factors are related to resilience. For instance, in a U.S. study (Proctor et al., 2010), the behavioral adjustment of 279 children who entered foster care before the age of 4 years and had spent at least five months in care was tracked over an 8-year period. At baseline (age 4), 44.8% were in an out-of-home placement, 35.4% had been reunited with a biological parent, and 19.7% had been adopted. Growth mixture modeling identified three internalizing and four externalizing behavior trajectories. For internalizing behaviors, 66.7% had stable adjustment, 25.4% had mixed/decreasing adjustment, and 7.9% had increasing adjustment. For externalizing behaviors, 46.6% had stable adjustment, 28.7% had mixed adjustment, 8.2% had increasing adjustment, and 16.5% had stable maladjustment. For trajectory correlates, caregiver-reported social competence and child-reported cognitive ability, placement stability, and low frequency of physical abuse predicted belonging on the stable or increasing adjustment trajectory for both outcomes (Proctor et al., 2010).

The current study aimed to investigate behavioral resilience over time among children living in out-of-home care, and to identify predictors of resilient functioning. While studies have examined behavioral resilience, a limited number have used longitudinal methodology (Fergusson and Horwood, 2003, Jaffee and Gallop, 2007, Proctor et al., 2010), and no study to the best of our knowledge has examined distinct patterns or trajectories of behavioral resilience using a sample comprised entirely of children in out-of-home care. Also, children in the current study had been living in out-of-home care for at least one year at baseline, extending our understanding of the relationship between out-of-home care and behavioral outcomes as past findings (e.g., Proctor et al., 2010) have tended to use varied samples (i.e., combination of children in foster care, adopted children, and children living with their biological family). Use of a more homogeneous sample in the current study in part controlled for confounds that inherently exist within varied samples. Finally, while studies have examined the impact of early predictors on later behavior, the current study investigated predictors measured at single and multiple time points to capture dynamic effects on behavioral functioning, some of which have rarely been investigated previously (e.g., adverse life experiences).

Given these considerations, the first objective of the current study was to extend previous research including our own cross-sectional investigation of the prevalence and correlates of behavioral resilience (Bell et al., 2013) among a sample of 531 5–9 year old children living in out-of-home care, to examine behavioral trajectories of conduct and emotional problems among school-age children in out-of-home care, with a focus on trajectories that represent resilient functioning. The second objective was to examine predictors taken from various levels of the ecological model. Several variables were measured at one time point (i.e., baseline). These were demographics and variables in which little variation was anticipated over time. Additional predictors were those measured across the subsequent 4-year period. We focus on the school-age period because the majority of studies on behavioral functioning among maltreated samples have examined adolescence. However, school-age children may be particularly vulnerable to the development of behavioral problems, especially among those who have experienced early maltreatment by an attachment figure (Masten, Best, & Garmezy, 1990). Therefore, a focus on school-age children can provide insight into resilient functioning at an earlier developmental period and such findings can be useful for informing intervention efforts.

Based on past research (Bell et al., 2013, Walsh et al., 2010), we anticipated that children who were in kinship care, had fewer placement changes, maintained contact with biological parents, and had greater developmental assets would exhibit resilient behavioral functioning. Also, positive caregiver–child relationships (i.e., positive parenting), caregiver training, and greater years of experience fostering would contribute to behavioral resilience.

Section snippets

Sample and Procedure

The Ontario Looking After Children (OnLAC) project was mandated in 2006 by the government of Ontario to assess ongoing service needs and to monitor the developmental progress of children who have been in out-of-home care for one year or more (Flynn, Ghazal, Legault, Vandermeulen, & Petrick, 2004). On an annual basis, the second Canadian adaptation of the Assessment and Action Record (AAR-C2) is used to collect data covering seven domains of functioning (e.g., health, education, identity,

Results

Based on the Bayesian information criterion (BIC) index, the best-fitting model for conduct problems was a 4-group model (BIC = −2156.25; Fig. 1a), compared to the 2-group (BIC = −2211.33), 3-group (BIC = −2174.10), and 5-group (BIC = −2160.04) models. Two of the four trajectory groups represented behavioral resilience, defined as normative range scores on this measure. This was determined using U.K. general population norms (in the absence of Canadian norms, Flynn, Vincent, & Legault, 2009). Normative

Discussion

The findings revealed distinct groups of children in terms of behavioral functioning. Children tended to exhibit moderately high, moderate, low, or absent levels of behaviors, and these rates were relatively stable over time. A considerable proportion of the children were behaviorally resilient. About 6 in 10 were in either the No problems or Low, stable group for conduct (64.2%) and emotional (58.6%) problems. The rates of behavioral resilience were surprising however, given past research

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