Socioeconomic and psychosocial conditions of parents with children in out-of-home care: A qualitative systematic review

Families who have contact with child welfare services (CWS) often face a number of socioeconomic and psychosocial challenges, which may have led to the parents being unable to adequately care for their children. To date, understandings regarding the parents' socioeconomic and psychosocial conditions after the placement of a child are limited. A database search of PubMed, Sociological abstract, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science was performed to identify studies that investigate the socioeconomic and psychosocial conditions of parents with children in OHC published between January 1, 1980 and November 20, 2021. Of 19,750 screened articles, 51 qualitative articles met the inclusion criteria. Emerging themes relating to parents' subjective experiences were synthesized into three overarching themes: (1) experiencing a loss, (2) living a fragile reality, and (3) opportunity for change. The results demonstrate that more support is needed for parents as the placement of their child is a challenging time that places stress on their psychosocial and socioeconomic conditions, no matter the reason for placement. With the right support, positive adaptations could be possible.