This dissertation aimed to contribute to the quality of foster care addressing three main objectives: The first objective was to investigate if existing parenting interventions are effective in... Show moreThis dissertation aimed to contribute to the quality of foster care addressing three main objectives: The first objective was to investigate if existing parenting interventions are effective in supporting/improving parenting and child outcomes in foster care using a meta-analytic approach. The second objective was to study the effectiveness of an adapted version of Video-feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline (VIPP-SD) for foster care, i.e., VIPP-FC. The implementation of VIPP-SD in different types of families and in childcare settings was first reviewed, with special attention to VIPP-FC. Subsequently, the study protocol of the randomized controlled trial (RCT) investigating the effectiveness of VIPP-FC was described. In addition, the results of this RCT regarding the effectiveness of VIPP-FC on parenting behavior and attitudes were presented. The third objective was to examine correlates of indiscriminate friendliness (IF) displayed by foster children. To answer this question, the relations of attachment security, parental sensitivity, and child inhibitory control with IF were examined using data collected during the pretest of the VIPP-FC RCT. Results are described and discussed in different chapters, and implications for clinical practice and recommendations for future research are additionally provided. Show less
The World Health Organization recently estimated that in Europe alone 117 million children suffer from maltreatment or other adverse childhood experiences. Some of these children need to be... Show moreThe World Health Organization recently estimated that in Europe alone 117 million children suffer from maltreatment or other adverse childhood experiences. Some of these children need to be placed in (24-h) settings for out-of-home care, such as foster care, family-style group care, and residential care. However, children do not always benefit from these services, as suggested by the substantial numbers of children repeatedly experiencing placement breakdowns. Aim of this research is to increase the effectivity and efficiency of out-of-home care services. For this purpose, typical baseline child and family characteristics of out-of-home placed children were linked to children’s development in the various 24-h settings. This knowledge both can provide building blocks for the development of sound decision-making strategies for referral to a certain type of out-of-home care and provide insight into which child and family factors need additional treatment during placement. Together, this increases the likelihood that children for whom (temporary) out-of-home placement is inevitable will receive optimal services with regard to their developmental needs. The research findings have been translated into three fundamental steps to transform the current stepped-care method for allocation decisions into a collaborative, effective, and matched-care model for allocation. Show less
This dissertation focuses on the development of children in family foster care and examines which characteristics related to the foster child, the foster family, and the foster placement are... Show moreThis dissertation focuses on the development of children in family foster care and examines which characteristics related to the foster child, the foster family, and the foster placement are associated with foster children’s development. We used meta-analysis and longitudinal research to provide a better insight in foster children’s development. In sum, this dissertation clarifies that foster children vary greatly with respect to their developmental functioning. We found several characteristics related to foster children’s development. Although these characteristics partly explain foster children’s development and thereby provide useful insights, they cannot explain the total variance in foster children’s development. It is both this lack of an accurate model for foster children’s development and the heterogeneity of developmental trajectories that lend significance to screening and monitoring of foster children’s development. We advise foster care agencies to systematically implement screening and monitoring measures in order to capture foster children’s developmental diversity. This enables timely identification of those foster children who experience developmental difficulties and are therefore at risk for negative developmental trajectories and breakdown. Researchers and foster care professionals should establish collaborations in order to improve the validity as well as the feasibility of screening and monitoring children in foster care. Show less
How often does child maltreatment occur in the Netherlands and which factors increase the risk of child maltreatment? In this thesis we describe the findings of two epidemiological studies aimed at... Show moreHow often does child maltreatment occur in the Netherlands and which factors increase the risk of child maltreatment? In this thesis we describe the findings of two epidemiological studies aimed at answering these questions. First, in the Netherlands__ Prevalence study on Maltreatment of children and youth (NPM-2010) we examined the year prevalence of child maltreatment in the general Dutch population, using sentinel reports, substantiated CPS reports, and high school students__ self-report. Overall prevalence rates were 33.8 per 1,000 children based on combined sentinel and CPS reports and 99.4 per 1,000 based on self-report. Important risk factors for maltreatment were low SES, single parent families, large families, stepfamilies, and immigrant status. Second, we examined the year prevalence of child sexual and physical abuse in residential and foster care. Children without disabilities had an increased risk of sexual abuse in residential care, and an increased risk of physical abuse in both types of care compared to the general population. Children with a mild intellectual disability were at increased risk of sexual abuse in both residential and foster care compared to regular out-of-home care and compared to the general population. Findings presented in this thesis contribute to the prevention of future child maltreatment in different care settings. Show less
This thesis examined the development of adopted children to shed more light on the effects of deprivation on child development and the potential for catch-up and recovery after placement in the... Show moreThis thesis examined the development of adopted children to shed more light on the effects of deprivation on child development and the potential for catch-up and recovery after placement in the more advantageous environment of an adoptive family. In the first part of the thesis a meta-analysis is presented in which we compared adopted children’s attachment relationships with the normative attachment distribution of nonadopted children raised by their biological parents, and - as a comparison - we also compared the attachment distribution of foster children with the normative distribution. The second and third parts of the thesis focus on the development of former foster and post-institutionalized children, 11 to 16 months old at arrival, two and six months after their adoption from China. Several salient developmental domains were studied: attachment, cognitive and motor development, physical growth, stress regulation, and social-emotional behavior. Show less
