The social and emotional impacts of children and adolescents in foster care

Author

Raiannamei Gappi Elad, Loyola University MarylandFollow
Kenneth Tremper, Loyola University MarylandFollow
Carolyn McNamara Barry, Loyola University MarylandFollow

Volume

29

Number

2

Department

Dept. of Psychology

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Date

2023

Abstract

Foster care is a substitute form of care in which children are placed away from their biological families and/or guardians. The scope of this literature review examines 39 scholarly articles (i.e., journals, reviews, meta-analyses, and reports) ranging from the years 1997-2021 of children and adolescents between the age range of six months old to young adulthood. We explore different factors that contribute to adverse child and adolescent outcomes in foster care, such as physical home environment, placement instability, the role of foster parents, and support systems; all which play a key role in the overall foster care experience of youth. These factors, in turn, have been related to children and adolescents developing an array of mental and social issues such as lack of interpersonal relationships, an increased risk for developing mental health disorders, self-esteem issues, and a lack of stability for future endeavors. Lastly, limitations and future research directions are further discussed along with the implications of the findings.

Keyword

foster care; children; adolescents; mental health; psychosocial

Discipline

Psychology

Document Type

article

DCMI Type

Text

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Recommended Citation

Elad, Raiannamei Gappi; Tremper, Kenneth; and Barry, Carolyn McNamara (2023) "The social and emotional impacts of children and adolescents in foster care," Modern Psychological Studies: Vol. 29: No. 2, Article 3.
Available at: https://scholar.utc.edu/mps/vol29/iss2/3