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Mental health problems in Norwegian school children placed out-of-home: the importance of family risk factors
- Authors:
- HAVNEN Karen Skaale, JAKOBSEN Reidar, STORMARK Kjell Morten
- Journal article citation:
- Child Care in Practice, 15(3), July 2009, pp.235-250.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The main aim of this article is to explore the association between mental health problems in children placed out-of-home and family risk factors reported as reasons for placement. The sample consisted of 109 Norwegian children aged 6-12 years. Mental health problems were assessed by the Revised Rutter scales reported by the parents and the teachers shortly after placement. On the basis of the reported reasons for placement, three risk indexes were constructed: parental risk, interactional risk, and child neglect and abuse risk. The analyses showed that 70% or more of the placed children had symptoms of mental health problems, boys more often than girls. Parental risk and interactional risk each accounted for a significant part of the variance in the children's mental health, while child neglect and abuse did not. The data, however, indicated that children placed out-of-home mainly due to parental risk had less mental health problems than other children, while children placed due to interactional risk or child neglect and abuse had more problems. The study indicates that family-related reasons for placement reported by the child welfare workers are important indicators for assessing mental health problems in children placed out-of-home.
Stability and change: a 7- to 8-year follow-up study of mental health problems in Norwegian children in long-term out-of-home care
- Authors:
- HAVNEN Karen Skaale, BREIVIK Kyrre, JAKOBSEN Reidar
- Journal article citation:
- Child and Family Social Work, 19(3), 2014, pp.292-303.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The aim of the study was to explore stability and change in mental health problems in Norwegian children aged 6–12 years old (n = 70) in long-term out-of-home care. The children's mental health problems were assessed shortly after the placement and 7–8 years later by the caregivers and the teachers on the Revised Rutter Scales. Information on pre-placement and placement factors were collected from the child welfare workers. At a group level the children's mental health problems had improved significantly over time according to the teachers' reports. According to the caregivers' reports, however, the children's problems were high and stable across time. Analyses aimed at detecting individual changes revealed a great variability in development according to both informants, indicating that treating the placed children as a homogenous group could be misleading. Several pre-placement and placement variables were associated with the change in the children's mental health problems from the time of placement to the follow-up time according to both informants' reports. However, all the predictors were accounted for by the strong effect of the children's problem scores when entering care. (Publisher abstract)
Why do children placed out-of-home because of parental substance abuse have less mental health problems than children placed for other reasons?
- Authors:
- HAVNEN Karen Skaale, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 33(10), October 2011, pp.2010-2017.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
Parental substance abuse (PSA) is a well-established risk factor for a variety of negative psychosocial outcomes for children. However, some studies have suggested that children placed out-of-home because of PSA may have less mental health problems than other placed children. The aim of this study was to compare children placed out-of-home because of PSA with children placed for other reasons (NPSA), and to explore the association between PSA and mental health problems. The study participants were 109 6-12 year old children placed in out-of-home care in Norway between September 1998 and December 1999. The data was collected from teachers, child welfare workers and parents shortly after the placement. Several group differences were found related to the children themselves, their families and the Child Welfare case. The PSA children had less total difficulties, conduct problems and emotional problems than the NPSA children. However, both groups had far more mental health problems than children in general. The most important variable explaining the group difference in all subgroups of mental health problems was the extent of prosocial behaviour in the children. Variables like gender, discipline problems and socioeconomic conditions did not have a significant effect. The conclusion is that prosocial behaviour may be an important protective factor against mental health problems.
Children placed in alternate care in Norway: a review of mental health needs and current official measures to meet them
- Authors:
- LEHMANN Stine, KAYED Nanna S.
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Social Welfare, 27(4), 2018, pp.364-371.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Children and youth placed in alternate care have often suffered detrimental care conditions before placement and the rupture of attachment bonds both before and during alternate care. In this article the knowledge base on the prevalence of mental disorders, and access to mental health services, of children and youth in alternate care in Norway is reviewed. Due to the increasing knowledge of this group's needs, official measures are now taken to improve service provision and cooperation between types and levels of services for children and youth in alternate care. The authors review the recent Norwegian official reports aiming to improve access to mental health services for children placed in alternate care and discuss their recommendations in light of empirical findings from their own research. (Edited publisher abstract)