The Protective Effect of Kinship Involvement on the Adjustment of Youth in Foster Care

Abstract

Child maltreatment and family dysfunction (e.g., conflict) can have a long-term deleterious impact on youth well-being. Using a child welfare sample, this study examined whether dysfunction in the nuclear family of origin was associated with adjustment problems, including internalizing and externalizing behavior problems, beyond the effect of child maltreatment, and whether extended family (kinship) involvement protected against youth’s adjustment problems. Participants included 171 children and adolescents (mean age = 10.15; 50.3% female) who entered foster care due to child maltreatment. Results indicated that greater dysfunction in the nuclear family of origin and child maltreatment were independently associated with greater internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Results also showed that kinship involvement was protective against externalizing behavior problems. Moreover, kinship involvement buffered the association between dysfunction in family of origin and internalizing behaviors only at low levels of family dysfunction. These results support policies that encourage the involvement of extended and noncustodial family members in the lives of maltreated youth following their entry into foster care.