Date of Award

1989

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

Abstract

The effectiveness of psychoeducational-psychosocial discussion groups, which focused on cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses to foster care, in helping pre-emancipated foster care adolescents meet intra- and interpersonal needs of impending exit from care, was investigated. Fourteen females and 16 males, ages 14 to 19, who had experienced histories of impermanence, were referred by child welfare personnel. A selected sample, pretest-posttest-follow-up, waiting list control group design was utilized. The eight-week treatment focused on variables of career decision-making strategy certainty, family environment perceptions, depression, self-perceptions and school-related behaviors with regard to teachers, peers, and academic tasks. Participants' responses to the Career Decision Scale (Osipow, 1987), the Family Environment Scale (Moos & Moos, 1986), the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale (Reynolds, 1986), and the Self Perception Profile for Adolescents (Harter, 1985), were analyzed, along with teacher responses to the Psychosocial Coping Inventory (Timberlake & Verdieck, 1987). Results indicated that treatment had no significant differential effect upon participants when compared to a similar group of foster care adolescents who received no treatment. Neither was there any significant treatment group difference from pre-treatment to post-treatment to a month follow-up assessment. Comparisons of treatment group pre-treatment results with normative data considered normal by assessment instrument authors indicated fewer intra- and interpersonal problems than those portrayed of foster care adolescents in a literature review. It was concluded that a pyschoeducational-psychosocial discussion group treatment with focus on cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses to foster care is not effective in helping pre-emancipated foster care adolescents meet intra- and interpersonal needs of impending exit from care. It was also concluded that foster care adolescents do not necessarily demonstrate the number or severity of problems attributed to them in previous research. Implications and recommendations are discussed.

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