25. Multiple Imputation for Nonresponse in Surveys. By D. B. Rubin. ISBN 0 471 08705 X. Wiley, Chichester, 1987. 258 pp. £30.25.

Multiple Imputation for Nonresponse in Surveys

Regression Analysis of Count Data: Preface

Child abuse and neglect.

OBJECTIVE. The problems children have upon entering foster care can potentially explain prior research findings that frequent placement changes are associated with poor outcomes. This study sought to disentangle this cascading relationship in order to identify the independent impact of placement stability on behavioral outcomes downstream. DESIGN/METHODS. Placement stability over the first 18 months in out-of-home care for 729 children from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being was categorized as early stability (stable placement within 45 days), late stability (stable placement beyond 45 days), or unstable (never achieving stability). Propensity scores predicting placement instability based on baseline attributes were divided into risk categories and added to a logistic regression model to examine the independent association between placement stability and behavioral well-being using the Child Behavior Checklist and temperament scores from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. RESULTS. Half (52%) of the children achieved early stability, 19% achieved later stability, and 28% remained unstable. Early stabilizers were more likely to be young, have normal baseline behavior, have no prior history with child welfare, and have birth parents without mental health problems. After accounting for baseline attributes, stability remained an important predictor of well-being at 18 months. Unstable children were more likely to have behavior problems than children who achieved early stability across every level of risk for instability. Among low-risk children, the probability of behavioral problems among early stabilizers was 22%, compared to 36% among unstable children, showing a 63% increase in behavior problems due to instability alone. CONCLUSIONS. Children in foster care experience placement instability unrelated to their baseline problems, and this instability has a significant impact on their behavioral well-being. This finding would support the development of interventions that promote placement stability as a means to improve outcomes among youth entering care.

The Impact of Placement Stability on Behavioral Well-being for Children in Foster Care

The Impact of Placement Stability on Behavioral Well-Being for Children in Foster Care.

This study examines the reasons for placement changes in foster care and analyzes determinates of the rate of behavior‐related placement change. Findings indicate that 20 percent of all changes are behavior related. Older age, externalizing behaviors, and emotional abuse increase the hazard of behavior‐related changes. The risk is lower when the child spends more days in kinship care. Having numerous system‐ or policy‐related moves does not increase risk of behavior‐related changes. Risk is highest during the 100 days after entry into care, suggesting that factors contributing to behavior‐related placement change might be present when a child enters care.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/424546

Why Do Foster Care Placements Disrupt? An Investigation of Reasons for Placement Change in Foster Care

Placement movement in out-of-home care: patterns and predictors

This study used data on 2,453 children aged 4–17 from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being and 5 analytic methods that adjust for selection factors to estimate the impact of out-of-home placement on children’s cognitive skills and behavior problems. Methods included ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions and residualized change, simple change, difference-in-difference, and fixed effects models. Models were estimated using the full sample and a matched sample generated by propensity scoring. Although results from the unmatched OLS and residualized change models suggested that out-of-home placement is associated with increased child behavior problems, estimates from models that more rigorously adjust for selection bias indicated that placement has little effect on children’s cognitive skills or behavior problems.

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Estimating the "impact" of out-of-home placement on child well-being: approaching the problem of selection bias

Children identified as having emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) may have different out-of-home care placements than their peers without EBD.This study compared the factors influencing placem...

Sigrid James

Papers

Why Do Foster Care Placements Disrupt? An Investigation of Reasons for Placement Change in Foster Care

Placement movement in out-of-home care: patterns and predictors

Estimating the "impact" of out-of-home placement on child well-being: approaching the problem of selection bias

Predictors of Placement Moves Among Children With and Without Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

What Works in Group Care? - A Structured Review of Treatment Models for Group Homes and Residential Care.