Poster #91 - I’m In If You Are: Dedication to Fostering and the Link to Interparental Relationship Quality

• In Event: 3-053 - Poster Session 10
  In Poster Session: PS 10 Section - Family Context & Processes

Integrative Statement

Background: In the United States, there are over 400,000 children in foster care. Approximately 77% are placed in either non-relative (45%) or relative (32%) foster homes (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2018). Many children enter foster care having experienced multiple traumas, which is exacerbated by the transition to foster care and multiple placements (Browning, 2015). However, children who are placed in homes where foster caregivers are dedicated to their fostering role are less likely to experience placement disruption, and thus, further trauma (Dozier & Lindheim, 2006). One reason for this may be that foster caregiver dedication may be associated with higher coparenting relationship quality, increasing the quality of the couple’s romantic relationship, which may then improve the overall quality of the foster home and child outcomes (Buehler, Cox, & Cuddeback, 2003). Although no empirical work has examined associations between coparenting and couple relationships and foster youth outcomes, in the general population healthy interparental relationships have been associated with greater child well-being (e.g., Teubert & Pinquart, 2010).
Objective: Guided by social exchange theory (Chadwick-Jones, 1976) and family systems theory (Bowen, 1968), the present study examines dyadic data from husbands and wives to determine the associations between dedication to fostering, coparenting relationship quality, and couple relationship quality. We hypothesize that both actor and partner effects would be found in that foster caregivers who are more dedicated to fostering will experience more positive relationship outcomes perceived by both partners and that coparenting relationship quality will mediate the associations between dedication and couple relationship quality.
Method: The data were collected from a random statewide sample of foster caregivers and analyzed using the actor-partner interdependence model (Kenny et al., 2006). The sample included 76 individuals (38 heterosexual couples), the majority of whom were Caucasian, non-Hispanic, and had at least an associate’s degree. Couples had an annual household income of $40,000 or more, and on average had been together 16 years and foster caregivers for 4 years.
Results: Husbands’ dedication to fostering was associated with both his and his wife’s perceptions of their coparenting relationship quality. Additionally, husbands’ perceptions of coparenting relationship quality were associated with wives’ perceptions of their couple relationship quality. Husbands’ perceptions of the coparenting relationship also mediated the association between husbands’ dedication to fostering and wives’ perceptions of their couple relationship quality.
Conclusions: The present study suggests that husbands’ dedication to fostering may be especially important to facilitating a positive coparenting and couple relationship for foster caregiver couples. When foster caregiver couples have healthy relationships, they are more likely to provide a stable, low-conflict home for foster children which then influences the well-being of foster youth (Buehler et al., 2006). Child welfare professionals working with foster caregivers may work with foster fathers to build their dedication to the fostering role. Foster caregiver couples may also participate in relationship education training to enhance their relationship skills and manage their differences in dedication to fostering. Future research may focus on child well-being outcomes related to foster caregiver interparental relationship quality.

Authors

• Evin Winkelman Richardson, University of Georgia
  Presenting Author

• Peter Attridge, University of Georgia
  Non-Presenting Author

• Ted G Futris, University of Georgia
  Non-Presenting Author

• Meredith Farnsworth, University of Georgia
  Non-Presenting Author