Challenges of Assessing Maltreated Children Coming into Foster Care
Children who have experienced early adversity have been known to be at risk of developing cognitive, attachment, and mental health problems; therefore, it is crucial that children entering foster care can be properly assessed as early as possible. There are known difficulties in assessing children i...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2016-01-01
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| Series: | The Scientific World Journal |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/5986835 |
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| _version_ | 1832551569424384000 |
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| author | Rachel Pritchett Harriet Hockaday Beatrice Anderson Claire Davidson Christopher Gillberg Helen Minnis |
| author_facet | Rachel Pritchett Harriet Hockaday Beatrice Anderson Claire Davidson Christopher Gillberg Helen Minnis |
| author_sort | Rachel Pritchett |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Children who have experienced early adversity have been known to be at risk of developing cognitive, attachment, and mental health problems; therefore, it is crucial that children entering foster care can be properly assessed as early as possible. There are known difficulties in assessing children in foster care, for example, in finding a reliable informant. An ongoing randomised controlled trial in Glasgow, Scotland, recruiting infants entering foster care, provides a unique opportunity to explore some of the issues which need to be considered when assessing these children. The assessment data of 70 infants entering care is described while exploring the reliability of foster carers as informants and the importance of infant engagement with tasks. This group of infants was shown to be having more problems than children from the general population. While correlations were found between a carer’s level of concern about a child and the severity of a child’s problem, there were still a number of children displaying worrying problem scores whom foster carers did not report concern. The child’s engagement in the cognitive task showed associations with the child’s attainment on the task. Findings emphasise the importance of a holistic assessment for these children and all should be considered as potential cases with Maltreatment-Associated Psychiatric Problems (MAPP). |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d8707b23d1634401a2791108d74a3999 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2356-6140 1537-744X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2016-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Scientific World Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-d8707b23d1634401a2791108d74a39992025-02-03T06:01:18ZengWileyThe Scientific World Journal2356-61401537-744X2016-01-01201610.1155/2016/59868355986835Challenges of Assessing Maltreated Children Coming into Foster CareRachel Pritchett0Harriet Hockaday1Beatrice Anderson2Claire Davidson3Christopher Gillberg4Helen Minnis5Institute of Health and Wellbeing College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences Academic Unit of Mental Health & Wellbeing, University of Glasgow Caledonia House Royal Hospital for Sick Children Yorkhill, Glasgow G3 8SJ, UKInstitute of Health and Wellbeing College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences Academic Unit of Mental Health & Wellbeing, University of Glasgow Caledonia House Royal Hospital for Sick Children Yorkhill, Glasgow G3 8SJ, UKNSPCC Scotland, Glasgow Service Centre, Pavillion 2, Rowan Business Park, 5 Ardlaw Street, Glasgow G51 3RR, UKInstitute of Health and Wellbeing College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences Academic Unit of Mental Health & Wellbeing, University of Glasgow Caledonia House Royal Hospital for Sick Children Yorkhill, Glasgow G3 8SJ, UKGillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, University of Gothenburg, Kungsgatan 12, 411 19 Gothenburg, SwedenInstitute of Health and Wellbeing College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences Academic Unit of Mental Health & Wellbeing, University of Glasgow Caledonia House Royal Hospital for Sick Children Yorkhill, Glasgow G3 8SJ, UKChildren who have experienced early adversity have been known to be at risk of developing cognitive, attachment, and mental health problems; therefore, it is crucial that children entering foster care can be properly assessed as early as possible. There are known difficulties in assessing children in foster care, for example, in finding a reliable informant. An ongoing randomised controlled trial in Glasgow, Scotland, recruiting infants entering foster care, provides a unique opportunity to explore some of the issues which need to be considered when assessing these children. The assessment data of 70 infants entering care is described while exploring the reliability of foster carers as informants and the importance of infant engagement with tasks. This group of infants was shown to be having more problems than children from the general population. While correlations were found between a carer’s level of concern about a child and the severity of a child’s problem, there were still a number of children displaying worrying problem scores whom foster carers did not report concern. The child’s engagement in the cognitive task showed associations with the child’s attainment on the task. Findings emphasise the importance of a holistic assessment for these children and all should be considered as potential cases with Maltreatment-Associated Psychiatric Problems (MAPP).http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/5986835 |
| spellingShingle | Rachel Pritchett Harriet Hockaday Beatrice Anderson Claire Davidson Christopher Gillberg Helen Minnis Challenges of Assessing Maltreated Children Coming into Foster Care The Scientific World Journal |
| title | Challenges of Assessing Maltreated Children Coming into Foster Care |
| title_full | Challenges of Assessing Maltreated Children Coming into Foster Care |
| title_fullStr | Challenges of Assessing Maltreated Children Coming into Foster Care |
| title_full_unstemmed | Challenges of Assessing Maltreated Children Coming into Foster Care |
| title_short | Challenges of Assessing Maltreated Children Coming into Foster Care |
| title_sort | challenges of assessing maltreated children coming into foster care |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/5986835 |
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