Citation

Taussig HN, Culhane SE, Garrido EF, Knudtson MD, Petrenko CL. Child Maltreat. 2013; 18(1): 56-64.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1077559512461397

PMID

23076837

Abstract

Physically neglected youth are at increased risk of mental health problems, but there are few interventions that have demonstrated efficacy in reducing mental health symptoms for this vulnerable population. The Fostering Healthy Futures (FHF) program, which consists of mentoring and skills groups, was developed for preadolescent youth in foster care. In a published randomized controlled trial with 156 youth, FHF demonstrated positive impacts on mental health functioning. The current study sought to determine whether FHF might be particularly effective in ameliorating the impact of neglectful family environments. Because it was not possible to isolate a neglected-only subgroup, as most children with physical neglect histories had experienced other types of maltreatment, we tested the hypothesis that intervention effects would be stronger among children with more severe physical neglect. Findings did not support this hypothesis, however, as severity of physical neglect did not significantly moderate the impact of the intervention on psychosocial outcomes.

Language: en