Caregiver Helplessness in CPS-Involved Families: Predictors, Pathways, and Implications for Child Behavioral Outcomes and Out-of-Home Placement

Abstract

Welfare-involved children face compounding risks, including abuse, neglect, and disrupted attachment relationships, yet significant gaps remain in understanding how caregiving-level risk factors operate within child protective services (CPS)-involved families. Grounded in attachment theory and the caregiving systems model, this dissertation examines caregiver helplessness, a caregiver's sense of loss of control in the parenting role, and inability to serve as a source of protection for the child, as a central organizing construct linking caregiver characteristics to child welfare outcomes. Using a longitudinal sample of 247 CPS-involved parent-child dyads, this dissertation investigates helplessness trajectories over time, its role in pathways from caregiver maltreatment history to child out-of-home placement, and its contribution to trajectories of child externalizing behavior. Findings are discussed in terms of their relevance to caregiving risk in CPS-involved families and implications for future research and child welfare policy.