The impact of childhood trauma, congregate care placement, and social support on foster youth depressive symptoms

Background Foster youth placed in congregate care often report more risk and fewer protective factors for mental health compared to foster youth residing in other settings. Objective This study aims to address a gap in the literature by examining how childhood trauma and perceived social support are associated with depressive symptoms among youth with histories of residential care or group home placement. Participants and setting Secondary analysis was employed using data from the “Voyages” study. Foster youth ( N = 404) completed a battery of surveys including demographics, placement histories, childhood trauma, social support (i.e., friend and family support), and depressive symptoms. Methods and results Two linear regression models were used to assess whether placement histories in 1) group home and 2) residential care predicted depressive symptoms and whether childhood trauma, family support, and friend support moderate these relationships. Moderation analysis revealed that for youth with history of group home placement, less family support symptoms ( b = −1.43, 95% CI [−2.18, −0.68]) was significantly associated with greater depressive symptoms. For youth without history of residential care, less friend support symptoms ( b = 0.18, 95% CI [0.00, 0.36]) was significantly associated with greater depressive symptoms compared to those with history of residential care. Conclusions Findings suggest that congregate care placements may inform differential access to social support for youth. Considering greater childhood trauma was associated with worse depressive symptoms for youth with group home experience, evaluation of trauma-informed care practices in these settings may be warranted.