Effects of Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care for Preschoolers (MTFC-P) for Young Foster Children with Severe Behavioral Disturbances
نویسندگان
چکیده
Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care for Preschoolers (MTFC-P) has thus far only been tested for diminishing behavior problems in the US. This study tested relative efficacy of MTFC-P on multiple outcomes against treatment as usual in the Netherlands (TAU; Study I), and regular foster care (Study II). The sample included 55 children that received MTFC-P, 23 children received TAU and 30 children from regular foster care (RFC). Changes in behavioral and relationship functioning, trauma symptoms, hypothalamic-adrenal-pituitary (HPA-) axis functioning, and caregiving stress were assessed via questionnaires, interviews, and salivary cortisol. Outcomes of Study I were evaluated using a randomized controlled design and quasi-experimental design, outcomes of Study II according to non-equivalent group comparison. No evidence was found for relative efficacy of MTFC-P over TAU. A treatment effect was found on trauma symptoms, in favor of TAU. Outcomes of Study II revealed that whereas caregiving stress and secure base distortions were significantly more severe at baseline in MTFC-P compared to RFC, post treatment differences were no longer significant. However, percentages of symptoms of disinhibited attachment and attachment disorder were nearly equal between groups at baseline, while post treatment percentages indicated significantly more symptoms in MTFC. In addition, results revealed a significant difference in the severity of externalizing problems post treatment, in favor of RFC. The results obtained within this study indicate that children in MTFC-P and usual treatment foster care in the Dutch context improved similarly, thus not showing the same advantages that MTFC-P has demonstrated in the US. Results should be interpreted with caution due to lower than planned power. Findings underscore the challenges of testing novel treatments across contexts with highly different child welfare provisions.
منابع مشابه
The effectiveness of Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care for Preschoolers (MTFC-P) for young children with severe behavioral disturbances: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial
BACKGROUND Among children placed out of home, behavioral and relationship functioning is often problematic. When placed in foster care, problems tend to persist or even worsen and increase the risk of placement breakdown. Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care for Preschoolers is an intensive behavior-focused program for young foster children (3 to 7 years) aiming to provide children with a pos...
متن کاملMultidimensional treatment foster care for preschoolers: early findings of an implementation in the Netherlands
UNLABELLED Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care (MTFC) has been shown to be an evidence based alternative to residential rearing and an effective method to improve behavior and attachment of foster children in the US. This preliminary study investigated an application of MTFC for preschoolers (MTFC-P) in the Netherlands focusing on behavioral outcomes in course of the intervention. To examine...
متن کاملMultidimensional Treatment Foster Care: An Alternative to Residential Treatment for High Risk Children and Adolescents.
This paper describes the Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care program (MTFC), an evidence based approach for providing psychotherapeutic treatment for very troubled children and adolescents that is an alternative to residential care. Versions of the MTFC program have been developed and validated for young children with a history of maltreatment as well as for older children and adolescents wh...
متن کاملEffects of Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care for Preschoolers (MTFC-P) on Reducing Permanent Placement Failures Among Children With Placement Instability.
The aims of the present study were to examine the effects of a therapeutic intervention for foster preschoolers with histories of placement instability on permanency outcomes and to determine whether the intervention's effectiveness on these outcomes varied based on prior maltreatment experiences. Permanency outcomes for 52 children who had experienced 4 or more placements prior to study entry ...
متن کاملMultidimensional Treatment Foster Care for Adolescents in English care: randomised trial and observational cohort evaluation.
BACKGROUND Children in care often have poor outcomes. There is a lack of evaluative research into intervention options. AIMS To examine the efficacy of Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care for Adolescents (MTFC-A) compared with usual care for young people at risk in foster care in England. METHOD A two-arm single (assessor) blinded randomised controlled trial (RCT) embedded within an obse...
متن کامل