The Study of Sibling Violence Among Foster Children

本调查将收集260名非裔美国人和拉丁裔受虐待的兄弟姐妹的2次评估（第3-4波），我们之前对他们进行了两次评估，间隔一年（第1-2波），他们被安置在寄养家庭，研究开始时年龄为7岁。鉴于他们有确凿的过去家庭暴力暴露史，这些样本在兄弟姐妹暴力行为、心理问题和学校能力中断方面的风险很高。通过与纽约市参与的儿童福利机构、亲生母亲和养母密切合作，我们保留了82%的兄弟姐妹，并完成了对复杂数据集的临床有意义的分析。初步研究表明，68%的孩子报告了中度到高度的兄弟姐妹冲突，41%的孩子表现出严重的行为问题，62%的孩子符合儿童精神障碍的标准。在随机回归分析中，兄弟姐妹冲突、寄养照顾温暖和较少拒绝照顾对增加有独立贡献

This investigation will collect 2 assessments (waves 3-4)on 260 African-American and Latino maltreated siblings for whom we previously obtained 2 assessments one-year apart (waves 1-2) placed in foster care, and who were 7 years old when the study began. Given their substantiated histories of exposure to past familial violence, the sample is high risk for the perpetration of sibling violence, psychological problems, and disruptions in school competence. By working closely with participating child welfare agencies in NYC, biological and foster mothers, we retained 82% of the siblings and completed clinically meaningful analyses of a complex dataset. Preliminary studies indicate that 68% reported moderate to high sibling conflict, 41% showed elevated behavior problems, and 62% met criteria for a child mental disorder. In random regression analyses, sibling conflict, foster caregiving warmth, and less rejecting caregiving made an independent contribution to increased sibling problems. Building on this unique recruited sample, the proposed research objectives are: (1) to examine correlates of sibling violence, namely, past familial victimization (exposure to child neglect, abuse, and/or intimate partner violence), child mental disorder (particularly disruptive behavior disorders), and placement variables (together or apart; and foster home instability) over time; (2) to examine the contribution of sibling violence on increased psychological symptoms (increased internalizing, externalizing) and disruptions in school competence, over time; and (3) to evaluate the moderating role of sibling positivity, foster caregiving quality, and differential warmth and responsive management in the linkage between sibling violence and increased symptoms and disruptions in school competence, over time. The identification of modifiable risk and protective factors in the social ecology of foster care is a crucial first step in effective prevention of sibling violence in foster children.