American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, Vol 96(3), 2026, 283-294; doi:10.1037/ort0000840
For youth involved in foster care, maltreatment poses enormous challenges to healthy development. The involvement of kin and fictive kin in children’s lives has been shown to be a protective factor following maltreatment and may therefore aid in youth’s strength development. The present study investigated the association between kin and fictive kin involvement and longitudinal strengths development among youth in foster care (N = 300). We then examined whether any deleterious relationship between maltreatment and strengths development is buffered by kin and fictive kin involvement. Using the child and adolescent needs and strengths measure, youth strengths were categorized into four domains: community involvement (i.e., spiritual/religious, talents/interests, community life), psychosocial (i.e., optimism, coping/savoring, interpersonal), relationships (i.e., family, relationship permanence), and educational setting. Using multilevel modeling to estimate and predict strengths trajectories, results showed that kin and fictive kin involvement was associated gains in relationship and community involvement strengths. After adjusting for possible false discoveries, maltreatment was not associated with strengths trajectories, nor was the interaction between maltreatment and kin and fictive kin involvement. These results indicate that kin and fictive kin involvement may not just play a role in preventing negative outcomes but may also play a vital role in supporting youth thriving. These results further support efforts to find, engage, and support kin and fictive kin, so that their importance in children’s development is realized. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)