Impact of child and placement characteristics, carer resources and perceptions, and life stressors on care giving

Impact of child and placement characteristics, carer resources and perceptions, and life stressors on care giving

Project Members - Macquarie University

Rebecca Mitchell - Associate Professor  E: r.mitchell@mq.edu.au

Nicole Halim - Research Assistant  E: nicole.halim@mq.edu.au

Yvonne Zurynski - Associate Professor of Health System Sustainability E: yvonne.zurynski@mq.edu.au

Project Description

Children in care should be given the best possible environment for their physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional development and placed with carers willing and able to meet their needs. This study aims to examine the impact of child and placement characteristics, carer resources and perceptions, and life stressors on caregiving. Available evidence indicates that both carer’s personal characteristics and their access to external resources play a role in placement stability and quality of care. Strain caused by stressful events, financial hardship, or poor health can impact on the ability of carers to parent well and caregiver mental health is known to have a significant impact on children’s long-term outcomes.

This research will examine carer and household characteristics and factors such as the experience of stressful life events and social support from family and friends to determine how these impact on caregiving. The role of service factors, such as Family and Community Services or non-government organisation management, will also be considered. This study will explore the unique needs of kinship carers, particularly life stressors they might experience and the resources available to them for support, and seek to identify the resources and strengths of both foster and relative carers that positively impact on their caregiving and protect from stressors.

Project Sponsor

Department of Communities and Justice

Related Stream of Research

Health outcomes

Project Status

Current

Centres Related to this Project

Centre for Healthcare Resilience and Implementation Science

Photo by Daria Obymaha from Pexels