Family functioning, parenting style, and child behavior in kin foster care

Reginald C. Richardson*, James P. Gleeson

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

16 Scopus citations

Abstract

Face-to-face interviews with 120 predominantly African American kin caregivers of children in the child welfare system revealed significant associations between family functioning and child behavior problems. Caregivers who reported healthier family functioning tended to report lower levels of behavior problems by the children in their care. Healthier family functioning related to roles and affective involvement were associated with lower levels of child behavior problems, but, surprisingly, less healthy family functioning related to behavior control was also associated with lower levels of child behavior problems. Caregiver ratings of their parenting styles were related to family functioning but not to their ratings of the child's behavioral functioning. Results of this study suggest several implications for child welfare practice and future research.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)111-122
Number of pages12
JournalFamilies in Society
Volume93
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 2012

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Social Sciences (miscellaneous)

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Family functioning, parenting style, and child behavior in kin foster care'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this