<p>  </p> <p>As the default state response to child maltreatment in the U.S., child welfare system (CWS) interventions are delivered to caregivers of 1.3 million children annually (USDHHS, 2021). In theory, CWS interventions aim to reduce risks for child maltreatment by providing services to parents; however, research and anecdotal evidence from stakeholders suggest that many families do not benefit from CWS intervention as intended (Russell et al., 2018). One important feature of CWS interventions is that they differ greatly between families – in ways both intentional and unintentional (Jonson-Reid et al., 2017). As such, exploring how differences in intervention delivery may explain outcomes is of value. For instance, the explanatory potential of parents’ experiences of interventions has been overlooked. The overarching goal of this dissertation was to expand the empirical evidence base related to how focusing on parents’ experiences and well-being during and after CWS interventions can help explain differences in outcomes as traditionally measured (i.e., chronic CWS involvement and ongoing child maltreatment). Paper 1 quantitatively explores levels and trends in parent well-being for three years following a CWS investigation, including how indicators of parent well-being relate to child welfare outcomes. Results suggest that only parents’ mental health remains a consistent predictor of child maltreatment risk after three years, and that no parent well-being indicator predicted CWS re-involvement. Paper 2 expands upon Paper 1 by exploring the role of parents’ experiences with CWS services and caseworkers in shaping trends in parent well-being and child welfare outcomes. Overall, results indicated that no indicators of parents’ experiences predicted odds of CWS re-reports, but that some aspects of parents’ experiences may predict ongoing maltreatment risk. Results also indicated that parents who received or were mandated to a greater number of services overall also reported changes over time in well-being related to mental health, IPV victimization, and drug use-related problems. Findings also suggested that parents from marginalized backgrounds may have different experiences with interventions. Paper 3 qualitatively explored parents’ experiences in a specialized form of CWS intervention (Family Treatment Court), with an emphasis on how parents experience and make sense of the many manifestations of state power during interventions. Together, these three studies offer modest implications for future research and practice related to promoting parent well-being and child safety in the context of the evolving CWS.</p>

Denna studie undersökte föräldrar till barn som upplevdes ha höga problem med hyperaktivitet/impulsivitet och uppmärksamhet. Studiens syfte var att undersöka om föräldrarnas välbefinnande, föräldraroll och reaktioner på barnets beteende skiljde sig åt mellan dem som hade ett barn med Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) och dem vars barn inte hade diagnosen. Deltagarna (N=1086) var föräldrar som svarade på en enkät från Nationella Jämförelsestudien (en utvärdering av föräldrastödsprogram i Sverige). Denna studie fokuserade på de 225 föräldrar till barn som hade höga ADHD-relaterade beteenden, varav 62 barn hade ADHD-diagnos och 163 hade inte denna diagnos. Resultaten av variansanalyser visade att föräldrar till barn med ADHD-diagnos och föräldrarna till barn utan diagnos inte skiljde sig åt gällande deras välbefinnande, föräldraskap och reaktioner på barnet. Den här studien föreslår att båda grupper av föräldrar till barn som visar stora svårigheter med hyperaktivitet/impulsivitet och uppmärksamhetsproblem behöver socialt stöd. / This study evaluated parents of children who perceived high in problems with hyperactivity/impulsivity and attention. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether parents’ well-being, parenting role or reaction on the child’s behavior differed between parents’ who had a child with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and parents of a child with no diagnose. Participants (N=1086) answered a survey from the National Effectiveness Evaluation of Parenting Programs in Sweden. Focus was on 225 parents of children who had high ADHD-related behaviors, 62 children had an ADHD-diagnose and 163 had no diagnose. The results of analyses did not show any differences on well-being, parenting role or reaction on the child’s behavior between parents of children who were diagnosed ADHD and parents of children with no diagnose. This study suggests that both these groups of parents with children high in hyperactivity/impulsivity and inattention need social support.