RT Journal Article
T1 Is contact with birth parents beneficial to children in non-kinship foster care? A scoping review of the evidence
A1 Ruiz-Romero, Kevin J.
A1 Salas-Martínez, María Dolores
A1 Fernández-Baena, Francisco Javier
A1 González-Pasarín, Lucía
K1 Niños -- Cuidado
AB Many children in non-kinship foster care maintain contact with their birth parents, although debate continuesabout whether or not, or under what circumstances, it is beneficial to the child. In this scoping review we analyzethe findings of studies conducted over the past two decades that have specifically examined face-to-face contactwith birth parents for children in non-kinship foster care, our aim being to determine more clearly when it maycontribute positively to the child’s well-being. The review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA-ScRguidelines and involved a search of nine electronic databases. A total of 21 studies met the criteria for inclu-sion in the review, namely primary studies analyzing one or more aspects of these contact visits, written inEnglish or Spanish, and published during the period 1997–2022. In analyzing these studies we grouped theirfindings according to four broad areas of interest: characteristics of contact visits, appraisal of visits by familiesand professionals, relationship between contact and fostering outcomes, and impact of contact on children. Thefour main conclusions we draw from the review are: a) surprisingly few studies have specifically examined theeffects of face-to-face contact with birth parents in non-kinship foster care; b) the findings to date are neitherconclusive nor generalizable, although they are not generally encouraging; c) under the right circumstances (e.g.,adequate supervision, conducted in a context of emotional security for the child), contact can contribute to thechild’s well-being and increase the likelihood of family reunification; and d) more robust research is needed toguide the development of interventions that can improve parent–child relationships and the quality of contactvisits
PB Elsevier
YR 2022
FD 2022-12
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10630/25778
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10630/25778
LA eng
NO Kevin J. Ruiz-Romero, María D. Salas, Francisco Javier Fernández-Baena, Lucía González-Pasarín, Is contact with birth parents beneficial to children in non-kinship foster care? A scoping review of the evidence, Children and Youth Services Review, Volume 143, 2022, 106658, ISSN 0190-7409, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2022.106658.
NO Andalusian Plan for Research, Development and Innovation (PAIDI) Research Group SEJ-466. Funding for open access charge: Universidad de M ́alaga / CBUA
DS RIUMA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Málaga
RD 20 ene 2026