Effects of Mentalization-based Interventions on Mental Health of Youths in Foster Care

ABSTRACT

Knowledge about the development of mental health in young people in foster care is limited. This naturalistic study examined the effects of a relational and mentalization-focused treatment in foster families in Sweden on the placed young people’s mental health. The Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA) was used to measure change in psychiatric symptoms. Self-ratings showed significant improvements and medium to strong effects after 24 months in both boys and girls. No significant changes were found in the foster parents’ ratings or in the school staff’s ratings. Foster parents’ ratings suggested that girls’ behavioral problems decreased, but not the boys’. Based on these findings, we want to emphasize the importance of evaluating treatment effects using self-ratings by the young people in addition to parents’ and parent substitutes’ ratings.

KEYWORDS:

• Foster care
• treatment model
• mentalizing
• attachment
• ASEBA
• outcome

Disclosure statement

Author Anna-Karin Åkerman was employed as a psychologist at the company where data was collected for the study. Åkerman does not have any other economic interests to declare. Authors Fredrik Falkenström, Anneli Frostell and Rolf Holmqvist have no declarations of interest. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Anna-Karin E. Åkerman

Anna-Karin E. Åkerman is a Doctoral Student at Department of Behavioral Science and Learning, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden. Anna-Karin has been working as a psychologist for 25 years and most of the time with children, adolescents and parents within the social services. She also has a private practice for relational and interpersonal psychotherapy and supervision. Email: [email protected]

Rolf Holmqvist

Rolf Holmqvist is a Professor Emeritus in Clinical Psychology at Department of Behavioral Science and Learning, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden. He has been full time professor at this university since 2008 and made research on different aspects of psychological treatments. He has also lectured on psychodynamic and relational psychotherapy. In addition to his research, he has a private practice for psychotherapy and supervision. Email: [email protected]

Anneli Frostell

Anneli Frostell is an Associate Professor in Psychology at Department of Behavioral Science and Learning, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden since 2009. She has made research on psychological stress in children and how serious life events increases the risk for childhood type 1 diabetes. Her main research interest is attachment research. Email: [email protected]

Fredrik Falkenström

Fredrik Falkenström is Associate Professor at the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Learning, Linköping University, Sweden. His research focuses on the processes of change in psychotherapy, and the methodologies for evaluating these. Email: [email protected]