Psychological Adjustment of Children in Foster Care: Review and Implications for Best Practice

Approximately 800,000 children are served by the foster care and adoption system each year based on 2008 data from the United States Department of Health and Human Services. While receiving services, children in the system often undergo multiple placements, in addition to having endured traumatic experiences such as child maltreatment and neglect. These experiences make foster care children more likely to experience adjustment and behavior problems. With such a large number of children in the foster care and adoption system, it is important to understand protective and risk factors playing a part in their ability to be resilient as well as barriers to treatment that may affect optimal adjustment. The current review examines adjustment difficulties as well as risk and protective factors, barriers to mental health care, and discusses clinical implications.