Carer Wellbeing and Reflective Capacity: Supporting Children in Care With Complex Mental Health Needs

The relationship between children/young people known to the child protection system and their carers can significantly influence the child/young person’s short- and long-term outcomes. Carers can experience higher levels of stress and anxiety in the caring role than the general population. The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in reflective capacity, carer stress, and carer confidence between foster carers, kinship carers, and residential care workers who were caring for children/young people with complex mental health needs accessing a tertiary-level specialist mental health service. Participants comprised 67 foster carers, 43 kinship carers, and 28 residential care workers. Measures used in the study included the Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire, Parental Stress Scale, and the Brief Parental Self-efficacy Scale. One-way ANOVA and post hoc analysis were conducted. Residential care workers had poorer reflective functioning for prementalising modes compared to foster and kinship carers, suggesting residential workers may have a greater inability to relate to the subjective experience of the child/young person. Participants aged 60 years and older had greater carer confidence compared to all other age groups. Males reported poorer reflective functioning for prementalising modes compared to females. System-wide support measures, accessible training, and coordinated service responses may strengthen both individual and organisational capacity.IMPLICATIONS Increased reflective capacity, reduced stress, and increased confidence in the caring role can have beneficial outcomes for both the carer and their child/young person.Reflective practice training for worker subgroups with lower reflective capacity is important as reflective capacity is closely linked to carers’ ability to regulate their own stress and maintain stable placements.