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Common Causes of Trauma
in Children:
Placements (Foster Care, Group Home, Residential)
Eleanor Willemsen, professor of psychology
at Santa Clara University, wrote, “Intimate relationships
with others are the context in which we discover who we
are, learn how others feel about life’s important
issues and find out how to bridge differences. The emotional
security and warmth derived from an initial close relationship
with a loving parent provides us with a ‘home base’
from which we can venture to take the risks that are inevitably
part of a life of joy and accomplishment. In short, close,
psychologically intimate relationships between babies and
their caregivers are central to human life.”
The question then becomes, “What happens
to the individual who has these intimate relationships disrupted?”
Below is some interesting information about placement options.
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Jean-Marie Ferdion from the Institut National d’études
Démographiques has found that in the United States,
34 percent of homeless young adults between the ages
of 20 to 24 and 61 percent of those aged 18 to19 were
in foster care at some time in their lives. She further
found that the risk for young people being placed in
foster care is related to the social level and poverty
of the family of origin. Also, she found that “a
childhood environment (natural or foster family) characterized
by little emotional warmth and support or by strict
discipline produces lower levels of self-esteem among
adolescents.”
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Lee Doran and Lucy Berliner, in a study of innovative
practices and in ia literature review, found that multiple
placements (as compared to a sustained placement) are
associated with worse outcomes for children.
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Lale Drost, in a research report, “Problems Faced
by Adolescents in Group Homes,” found that problem-solving
skills, such as getting advice, solving problems directly
and turning to family or other adults for help, have
been found to be higher in adolescents in foster families
than in group home housing arrangements. He further
found that group homes provide shelter for those in
need, but they cannot take the place of foster parental
guidance, grandparents or other family members who are
willing to look after the child, nor can they replace
independence for older adolescents who demonstrate the
ability to take care of themselves.
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