Adult outcome of children reared for long-term periods in foster families.
OBJECTIVE
To study the long term impact of adverse childhood experiences resulting from family breakdowns combined with a stable care environment. Another aim was to determine predictive factors for maladjusted psycho-social integration in adulthood.


METHODS
Sixty-three children from severely psychosocially dysfunctioning families selected from among those having been in care in an institutional setting: All had been reared for at least 5 years by foster families, had been out of care for more than 5 years and were at least 23 years old at the time of the survey. Semi-structured interviews were used in a follow-up study to assess adult outcome, essentially in terms of professional status, social, and family relationships.


RESULTS
Data was obtained for 94% of the study population (n = 59), 71% via direct interviews (n = 45). The majority had managed to overcome their childhood adversities: 56% were well-integrated socially, 12% had average integration results, 20% were partially integrated and 10% were in situations of failure. These difficulties were linked to multiple family disturbances and repeated traumatic experiences during childhood (p < .05). Multiple regression analyses indicated that these risk factors accounted for 28% of the variance in the social integration score (p < .0001). Severe emotional deprivation over a prolonged period was a contributing factor to clinical disorders.


CONCLUSIONS
At the study period, intergenerational repetition of "child placement" behaviors, significant in the previous generation, had practically disappeared. The results also highlighted the substantial psychotherapeutic and child-rearing assistance provided by the staff of the foster care agency.
Dumaret
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Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Paris, France.
Coppel-Batsch
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M
Couraud
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D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002669:Child Welfare; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005581:Foster Home Care / Q000523:psychology / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008426:Maternal Deprivation; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D010333:Paternal Deprivation; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012917:Social Adjustment; D016896:Treatment Outcome