Rural Kinship Caregivers' Perceptions of Child Well-Being: The Use of Attribution Theory

Abstract

Sixty-one rural, southwestern U.S. kinship caregivers were asked about their experiences and how those experiences influence the well-being of the 122 children in their care. They reported high levels of caregiving readiness/capacity and parenting abilities. Attribution theory, the manner in which people associate behavior, is used to interpret the findings and provide a set of practice, programming, and policy recommendations.

KEYWORDS:

• child well-being
• attribution theory
• rural caregivers
• kinship care
• service delivery

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We wish to thank all of the individuals who devoted time to the data collection and analysis efforts that supported the development of this article, including: Chris Kordus, Constance Brooks, Renee Brown, Nancy Downey, and Nickolas Liebman.

This research was supported by grant funding from the State of Nevada Division of Child and Family Services, the Clark County Department of Family Services (via a demonstration grant from the U.S Children's Bureau Improving Child Welfare Outcomes through Systems of Care), and the New York Community Trust, Silberman Fund Faculty Grant Program.

Notes

Note. N = 61. Rounding resulted in some percent categories totaling slightly less or more than 100.

Note. N = 122. Rounding resulted in some percent categories totaling slightly less or more than 100.