Foster family characteristics and behavioral and emotional problems of foster children: A narrative review

The purpose of this article is to review the literature on the foster famil y characteristics that are thought to contribute to the behavioral and emot ional problems of foster children. The review is shaped by an understanding of the personal and familial factors associated with children's problem be haviors in the general population. These factors include parenting the fami ly home environment, family functioning, marital functioning, family demogr aphy child temperament, parents' mental health, and social support. Limitat ions within the existing research on these foster family characteristics ar e noted and suggestions for future research are provided.