Displaying 1 - 10 of 42
Abstract:
Understanding the distinctive features of kinship and non-kin foster care has sparked research interest aimed at developing policies and programs. This study analyses 930 cases of fostered children (35.5% in non-kin foster care and 64.5% in kinship care) based on the information provided by child care professionals and the evaluations made by 221 foster carers (34.8% in non-kin foster care and 65.2% in kinship care) using different questionnaires.
Significant differences were obtained between kinship and non-kin foster care, indicating more favourable results on…
Abstract
Decision-making around foster care is a highly complex process, both because of the nature of the issues to be decided and because of the positive or negative implications it may have, mainly on the lives of the children, but also for foster carers and birth families. To focus research on decision-making is to go to the core of the child protection system. The aim of this article is to analyse the factors that intervene in decision-making by childcare professionals regarding non-kin foster care in the north-east of Spain, given that three services intervene throughout this…
This article employs concepts from family sociology to explore how ‘family’ is conceptualised in 14 life narratives of young people in foster care in Spain.
The article draws on a multi-method approach with young people who are in long-term non-kinship foster care. Seven girls and seven boys aged 10 to 22 took part in the study.
The empirical material reveals an interplay between biological preference and foster family affective practices in young people's narratives, illuminating a struggle to make sense of the concept of family in foster care. Most of the participants understand…
Many children in non-kinship foster care maintain contact with their birth parents, although debate continues about whether or not, or under what circumstances, it is beneficial to the child. In this scoping review the authors analyze the findings of studies conducted over the past two decades that have specifically examined face-to-face contact with birth parents for children in non-kinship foster care, with the goal of…
This study aims to advance the understanding of children with special needs in foster care by identifying the characteristics, processes, and outcomes of their placement. The study uses a quantitative approach to identify 190 children with special needs (registered) from among 2,157 foster children in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, Spain and examines key data covering 2008 to 2018. The results show that children with special needs are overrepresented in placements with single-parent foster carers (mainly women), raising questions about the extent to which the care system takes the…
Abstract
Many children who experience serious adversity with their birth family have to be placed in family-based alternatives, such as foster care, or adoption. Caregivers and parents are then expected to show these children nurturing patterns of relating to others through affectionate and stimulating interactions. These are essential for establishing positive bonds within new families. In the present study, we explored the adult-child interactions that took place in 116 families from Spain: 28 long-term non-kin foster families, 34 adoptive families, and a community comparison group made…
Abstract
This study aims to analyse the interaction between children in foster care and their main caregivers during a microcoded co‐construction task, focusing on the verbal and non‐verbal behaviours that the adults use to promote a secure attachment in the child. It also examines how children and caregivers' socio‐demographic variables relate to the interaction. The sample is made up of 28 Spanish children between 4 and 9 years old in long‐term non‐kin foster care and their foster families. The building task was administered to 28 dyads, composed of the child and the main caregiver in…
Abstract
Summary
This article presents the results of a qualitative study whose objective was to collect information on the perceptions of changes in parents and their children who are in the Spanish foster care system after completing a positive parenting programme.
Findings
The participants in the focus groups included 66 parents and 57 children. Triangulation of the voices of all protagonists identified findings that suggest the need for changes regarding understanding foster care measures and the process of family resilience; the…
Abstract
Children in foster care are a remarkably heterogeneous group regarding their adaptation, and disrupted emotion understanding is one of the processes that may lead to differential outcomes in them. Previous research has found different effects for abused and for neglected children in emotion recognition. However, very few studies have analysed more complex forms of emotion understanding in maltreated children while considering different adversity dimensions. The present study analysed associations between threat and deprivation exposure and different facets of emotion understanding…
Abstract
Children in foster care are a remarkably heterogeneous group regarding their adaptation, and disrupted emotion understanding is one of the processes that may lead to differential outcomes in them. Previous research has found different effects for abused and for neglected children in emotion recognition. However, very few studies have analysed more complex forms of emotion understanding in maltreated children while considering different adversity dimensions. The present study analysed associations between threat and deprivation exposure and different facets of emotion understanding…