Abstract
Objective:
The aim of this study was to determine behavioral and emotional problems of children between ages 6-17 in foster care system, as reported by their foster parents, teachers and the children themselves and compare the results with the children in residential care and children who live with their own families.
Method:
In this cross-sectional study, 39 children in foster care , 62 children in residential care, and 62 children who live with their own families in Ankara were enrolled. "Foster Family Care Demographic Form", “Child Behavior Checklists (CBCL)", Teacher's Report Forms (TRF), and Youth Self Report (YSR) were used for the data collection.
Results:
The prevalence rate of total problems of the CBCL revealed a rate of 9.7% based on parent reports,12.9 % based on foster family reports and 43.5 % based on caregiver reports in residential care system. When the Total Problem scores were compared based on care systems, significantly higher total problem scores were obtained in children who are in residential care. (P<0.05). However, no significant differences were found on the total problem scores between the children in foster family care and the children living with their own parents (P>0.05).
Discussion:
Since the prevalence of mental health problems is particularly high among children in residential care, encouraging foster parenting and putting standards at place for this type of care is highly needed.
Keywords: Foster family care, orphanage, child mental health
