The prevalence of placement breakdown in foster care: A meta-analysis

Abstract

Placement stability in foster care is of utmost importance for the development of foster children. However, foster children may experience placement breakdown. This meta-analysis estimates prevalences of placement breakdown in different types of foster care. A total of 47 studies that sampled 80.564 foster children were included. The overall prevalence of placement breakdown was estimated to be 26.26 %. Breakdown was more common in adolescents (34.23 %) than in younger children (16.26 %). The prevalence rate did not differ between general and therapeutic foster care and no evidence was found for prevalence differences across sex and ethnicity. Last, the prevalence rate of foster care breakdown was significantly higher in studies with longer assessment periods, in studies with retrospective study designs, and in studies based on file records compared to studies based on foster parents as informants. Given the substantial risks for adverse developmental outcomes following placement breakdown, it is discussed that future research investigating antecedents of breakdown is warranted.