Title:
Emotional investment and sleep health in foster care families
Author:
Morgan A. Endlein
Thesis Advisor:
Amy Wolfson
Committee Member:
Marianna E. Carlucci
Committee Member:
Sharon Green-Hennessy
Committee Member:
Frank D. Golom
Committee Member:
Candice Alfano
Degree Granting Institution:
Loyola University Maryland--College of Arts and Sciences
Place:
Baltimore (Md.)
Publisher:
Loyola University Maryland
Date Created:
2025
Type of Resource:
text
Genre:
thesis
Language:
eng
Format:
application/pdf
Physical Form:
electronic
Digital Source:
born digital
Abstract:
While studies have examined sleep health and bedtime routines among children living in foster care, foster parents’ emotional investment has been unexplored. Emotional investment includes foster parents’ willingness to commit to the child’s health and wellbeing and consider them as part of their family. This study examined associations between foster parents’ emotional investment, children’s sleep health, and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). A total of 218 foster parents were recruited to complete a Qualtrics survey through open/closed Facebook groups for foster parents (focusing on one child currently in their care ages 3-11). The Foster Parent Emotional Investment Scale (FPEIS) was developed to measure foster parents’ emotional investment in the children under their care. Sleep health (i.e., bedtime routines, sleep problems, sleep quality) and ACEs were also assessed. The 11-item FPEIS scale showed adequate internal consistency with a coefficient α = .72, as well as strong construct validity with the Revised Inventory of Parental Attachment (R-IPA) Trust subscale scores. Pearson correlations revealed that higher parental emotional investment was positively associated with more consistent bedtime routines, more adaptive bedtime activities, higher sleep quality, and fewer sleep problems. Additionally, ACEs were negatively associated with consistent bedtime routines, sleep quality, and sleep problems. Furthermore, increased ACEs weakened the negative association between foster parent emotional investment and child sleep problems, whereas greater child anxiety weakened the positive association between foster parent emotional investment and child sleep quality. Overall, the FPEIS is a promising tool for better understanding sleep and other health outcomes among children in foster care. Future trauma-informed interventions aimed at improving sleep health for children in foster care need to prioritize the importance of parental emotional investment.
Subject:
Electronic dissertations
Degree:
Doctor of Clinical Psychology
Level:
Doctoral
Discipline:
Psychology
Restrictions on Access:
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Identifier:
EndleinMA-25
