Suchergebnisse

Face-to-face interviews with 120 predominantly African American kin caregivers of children in the child welfare system revealed significant associations between family functioning and child behavior problems. Caregivers who reported healthier family functioning tended to report lower levels of behavior problems by the children in their care. Healthier family functioning related to roles and affective involvement were associated with lower levels of child behavior problems, but, surprisingly, less healthy family functioning related to behavior control was also associated with lower levels of child behavior problems. Caregiver ratings of their parenting styles were related to family functioning but not to their ratings of the child's behavioral functioning. Results of this study suggest several implications for child welfare practice and future research.

ABSTRACTIn‐depth semi‐structured interviews with 30 parents of children living with relatives in informal kinship care arrangements revealed the parents' views of the reasons for the informal kinship care arrangements, quality of their relationships with the children and their caregivers, their current and future roles in their children's lives, feelings experienced when with and away from the children, positive and negative aspects of kinship care, future goals and dreams for their children, and their assessments of their own strengths and challenges. Results of these interviews suggest several implications for social work practice and research.