Trauma, psychological stress and family situation of fathers who experienced child and youth welfare services: Implications for youth welfare interventions and therapy

Abstract

This paper explores the current family situation and psychological stress of fathers who experienced trauma and different kinds of youth welfare services including out-of-home placement during their childhood. The main group consisted of n = 119 fathers and was compared to a group of n = 36 fathers whose families never received services from the child and youth welfare authority. In the main group, a high correlation was found between trauma and current psychological stress, albeit the out-of-home care intervention or intensive home-support by child and youth welfare services during childhood. The higher stress level in the main group of fathers in contrast to the comparison group effects their current family situation, especially concerning the contact between fathers and their children. Fathers with higher stress levels were less likely to be in contact with their children. Acting on the assumption that fathers are important for their children, the results implicate a heightened focus on earlier trauma-informed interventions in families with difficulties and out-of-home care settings, to reduce stress levels and prevent intergenerational transmission of problematic family ex-periences. Current child and youth welfare services, in particular out-of-home placements, should take these trauma-informed approaches and therapy into account.