Citation

Havlicek J, Courtney ME. Child Abuse Negl. 2015; 52: 110-122.

Affiliation

University of Chicago, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.chiabu.2015.12.006

PMID

26724824

Abstract

This study compared official investigated reports of child maltreatment with retrospective self-reports prior to and during out-of-home care for a sample of foster youth who reached the age of majority in out-of-home care in Illinois. Using matched administrative and self-reported data for 474 youth who completed a baseline interview in the Midwest Evaluation of Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth (i.e. the Midwest study) at ages 17-18, and 386 youth who completed a follow up interview at age 19, this study finds that official reports and self-reports of maltreatment prior to and during out-of-home care differ significantly.

FINDINGS from this study add insight into measurement discrepancies, and help to inform understanding of the extent of maltreatment experienced by this sub-sample of young people exiting out-of-home care in adulthood. Study findings have implications for independent living policy and practice in child welfare.

Language: en