Unaccompanied migrant children in the United States: Predictors of placement stability in long term foster care
Unaccompanied migrant children in the United States: Predictors of placement stability in long term foster care
复制标题
DOI：
10.1016/j.childyouth.2016.12.009
复制
发表时间：
2017-02-01
影响因子：
3.3
通讯作者：
Underwood, Dawnya
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Crea, Thomas M.;Lopez, Anayeli;Underwood, Dawnya
近年来，数以万计的无人陪伴儿童移民到美国，特别是来自中美洲，但也有来自其他一些国家。这些儿童正在逃离其本国前所未有的暴力程度，并往往寻求与父母和家庭成员（即赞助者）团聚。有些孩子不能和担保人一起生活，这些孩子被安置在联邦政府资助的寄养中心。然而，对于这些孩子在安置期间的表现，几乎一无所知。与国内儿童福利相关的文献已经证明了安置稳定性对儿童未来福祉的重要性。采用探索性设计，本研究的目的是检查2012年至2015年长期寄养期间无人陪伴青少年的安置稳定性，以及移民前、过境和安置后的风险因素如何与这些儿童的安置变化相关（n = 256）。结果显示，在母国遭受暴力，并在护理期间表现出明显的行为，与改变安置的可能性更高有关。与移民相关的创伤并不显著，但害怕返回原籍国，以及遭受与移民无关的创伤，每一个都与改变安置的可能性较低有关。来自北三角国家（萨尔瓦多、危地马拉和洪都拉斯）的儿童在进入寄养前更有可能经历过失败的家庭团聚。这些结果是根据需要采用儿童福利的全球视角来讨论的，这种视角在移民前的经历和文化的更大背景下解释儿童的行为。(C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd.版权所有。
Tens of thousands of unaccompanied children have migrated to the United States in recent years, particularly from Central America, but also from a range of other countries. These children are fleeing unprecedented levels of violence in their home countries, and often are seeking reunification with parents and family members (i.e., sponsors). Some children are not able to live with a sponsor, and these children are placed in federally funded foster care. Yet, virtually nothing is known about how these children fare during placement. Literature related to domestic child welfare has demonstrated the importance of placement stability to children's future wellbeing. Using an exploratory design, the purpose of this study is to examine the placement stability of unaccompanied youth while in long term foster care from 2012 to 2015, and how pre-migration, transit, and post-placement risk factors are each associated with placement changes for these children (n = 256). Results show that experiencing violence in home countries, and significantly acting out while in care, were associated with a higher likelihood of changing placements. Migration-related trauma was not significant, but fear of returning to home countries, and suffering trauma unrelated to migration, each was associated with a lower likelihood of changing placements. Children from Northern Triangle countries (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras) were more likely to have experienced a failed family reunification prior to entering foster care. These results are discussed in light of the need to adopt a global perspective in child welfare that interprets children's behavior in the larger context of pre-migration experiences and culture. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.