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Social support network and adjustment of children in residential child care

• issue: Issue 2 / 2009
• authors: Eduardo Martin
• keywords: Spain, residential care, adjustment, Social support

• views: 4713
• downloaded: 0
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abstract

Background. The aim of this study is to determine the personal and social adjustment of children in residential care, and is being carried out in the Canary Islands (Spain). It analyses the role that social support networks play in the adjustment of children in residential care.

Purpose. To analyse the role that the social support networks available to children play in their personal, school and social adjustment. The methodology employed was quantitative in nature using an exploratory design with a sample of 102 children who live in residential care homes. The average age was 12.5 years old, 52% were boys and 48% were girls. The majority of the children had been in residential care for over two years. The Test Autoevaluativo Multifactorial de Adaptación Infantil (Multifactor Self-Assessment Test of Child Adjustment) TAMAI (Hernández, 1990) and the Cuestionario de Apoyo Social (Social Support Questionnaire) (Fernández del Valle y Errasti, 1991) were used in the study.

Key findings. Regarding the functional analysis of the social support networks (Table 1), and observing the average scores for each of the three dimensions analysed, it can be noted that those who obtain the highest scores for trust are adults in residential and family contexts, while the lowest scores are from peers in school and residential contexts.

As for help, once again the highest scores are obtained from adults in residential and family contexts, though high scores are also obtained from peers in both contexts. The lowest scores in help appear in the school context, both for adults and peers.

Finally, in the affection dimension, it is the family context that achieves the highest scores, both for peers and adults with the lowest scores coming from adults in the school context.

Tab. 1 - Functionality of social support networks

With the aim of checking to what extent social support networks are related to the adjustment of children who live in residential care centres, a Pearson correlation analysis was carried out and the results are shown in table 2. Firstly, it can be seen that social support networks in the family context bear no relation to adjustment. In the analyses of the relationships to school adjustment, it is demonstrated that, above all, it is the affection received from adults in school, residential and other contexts that bears the greatest relation, together with help received from adults in the residential context and with adults trust in the school context. With regard to social adjustment, the only significant correlation is the affection received from adults in other contexts.

Tab. 2 - Bivariable correlations between adjustment and the social support variables

Implications and recommendations. The results show the importance of the relationships that children have with adults in non-family contexts for school adjustment. Furthermore, relationships with adults not connected with residential and school contexts appear to have a positive effect on children's adjustment in all areas. This indicates the need to facilitate the integration of these children in community activities, in order to facilitate their normalisation and the creation of non-imposed relationships with adults, which is the case of residential and school contexts, in which minors cannot choose which adults they form a relationship with.

Key references

Fernández del Valle, J. & Errasti, J. M. (1991). Redes de apoyo social en menores acogidos en centros de servicios sociales de protección. Paper presented at III Congreso de Evaluación Psicológica, Barcelona, Spain.

Hernández, P. (1996). Tamai (Test Autoevaluativo Multifactorial de Adaptación Infantil). Madrid: TEA.

Martín, E. & Dávila, L. M. (2008). Redes de apoyo social y adaptación de los menores en acogimiento residencial. Psicothema, 20(2), 229-235.

Contacts: Eduardo Martín, University of La Laguna, Facultad de Psicología, Campus de Guajara, s/n. La Laguna, 38205. S/C de Tenerife (Islas Canarias, España), Phone +34 922317547, E-mail: edmartin@ull.es