Abstract
The object of the present study was to examine the well-being of adults who were in family foster care placements during childhood. The data for analyses were a part of the National Survey of Families and Households. The study compared the adult well-being of 107 individuals formerly in foster care and 12,910 adults never placed in foster care. It was predicted that former foster care placement would be associated with poorer adult functioning. The results of the study indicate that individuals formerly in family foster care placements did report significantly poorer functioning on five of the seven measures of well-being. The data revealed significantly higher depression scores, lower scores on marital happiness, less intimate parental relationships, and higher incidence of social isolation than adults who were never in foster care placements. These findings persisted after controlling for background variables, socioeconomic status, and marital status. Implications for research are discussed.
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Cook-Fong, S.K. The Adult Well-Being of Individuals Reared in Family Foster Care Placements. Child & Youth Care Forum 29, 7–25 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009440422651
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009440422651