Adverse Childhood Experiences and Poor Mental Health Outcomes Among Racially Diverse Foster Care Alumni: Impact of Perceived Agency Helpfulness

• Published in: Journal of child and family studies Vol. 24; no. 11; pp. 3293 - 3305
• Main Authors: Garcia, Antonio R., O’Brien, Kirk, Kim, Minseop, Pecora, Peter J., Harachi, Tracy, Aisenberg, Eugene
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-11-2015; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: African Americans; Alumni; Antisocial Behavior; Anxiety Disorders; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Child Abuse; Child and School Psychology; Child Welfare; Children & youth; Etiology; Family Programs; Foster care; Independent Living; Mental Disorders; Mental health; National Surveys; Original Paper; Psychiatry; Psychology; Race; Racial Differences; Replication (Evaluation); Social Sciences; Sociology; State Surveys; Substance Abuse; Young Adults; Youth; Child welfare; Adverse childhood; Foster care alumni; Independent living; Race disparity; Mental health
• ISSN: 1062-1024; 1573-2843
• DOI: 10.1007/s10826-015-0132-8

The etiology of poor mental health outcomes among foster care alumni of color remains largely unknown. We examined the influence of a subset of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), placement instability, and childhood disability in uniquely predicting mental health outcomes among racially diverse foster care alumni from a private foster care agency. Multiple group path modeling was used to examine direct and indirect relationships between the individual level risk factors, mediators (perceived agency helpfulness), and past-year psychiatric disorder. Results showed that while the overall model was moderated by race/ethnicity, no significant group differences occurred in which ACEs increased the likelihood of psychiatric diagnoses. However, there were racial/ethnic differences in whether perceived agency helpfulness mediated the relationship between a subset of ACEs and diagnosis with a psychiatric disorder. Implications for future research to inform the development and implementation of effective services and supports that can promote positive developmental outcomes among racially diverse alumni are discussed.