The Effect of Resilience and Coping Intervention (RCI) on Resilience among Medical Fragile Foster Children with Depression

Children in foster care with greater medical complexities are at risk for undesirable placement outcomes. Youth with disabilities are more likely to be placed in group homes or institutions due to lack of placement options. This population is faced with multiple challenges. Childhood exposure to adversities often lead to behavior problems, depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, maladaptive coping, and lowered school performance. However, not all children exposed to adversities develop problems, and this is due to resilience. Resilience is the ability to overcome stress or adversity, or it is resistance to environmental risks. Resilience and Coping Intervention (RCI) helps individuals to identify their thoughts, feelings, and coping strategies, and can be beneficial in targeting resilience in foster children. In this proposed study, RCI will be administered to medical fragile children with depression aged 10 to 16 to assess resilience. Coping and resiliency will be measured with Children’s Coping Strategies Checklist (CCSC), Child Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (CSDQ), and The Hope Questionnaire (HQ).