Compliance and Internalization in Preschool Foster Children

•The majority of maltreated young children in foster care displayed deviation behaviors in an internalization observation task (i.e., they could not resist touching prohibited toys when parent was not present).•HOME acceptance scores (via observation of foster parent and child in home setting) significantly contributed to children's observed compliance levels but did not significantly contribute to their observed internalization.•Observed internalization was related to children's externalizing behavior problems, as reported by their foster parents.

Child compliance and internalization are socio-cognitive developmental processes which are critical for children's social outcomes in multiple arenas. These developmental processes are found to be compromised in maltreated children. The current study was designed to add to the extremely limited literature on compliance and internalization in maltreated children in foster care. Compliance and internalization tasks were administered to preschool foster children, videotaped and later coded. Through parent-report questionnaires completed by the foster parents and observations of the foster home, the relation of compliance/internalization to child behavior problems, foster care experiences, and the foster home environment was examined. Findings revealed that most children showed committed compliance, but over 50% of children exhibited “deviation” behaviors in the internalization task. HOME acceptance scores (via observation of parent and child in home setting) significantly contributed to children's compliance levels but did not significantly contribute to their internalization. Internalization was related to children's externalizing behavior problems. These findings are considered in the context of future research and practice with respect to young children in foster care.