Many children live in foster homes because their biological parents cannot take care of the child's needs. Previous studies have shown that children placed in foster homes have major risks of mental illness. This study examines how children in adulthood talk about their mental health while growing up in foster care and have a relationship with their biologicalparents. The data was collected through five autobiographies with theirown experiences of living in family homes and having a relationship with their biological parents at this time. The mental health of foster carechildren is affected by their foster care parents approach and attitude towards the children's needs. The better adaptation to the child's needs thebetter mental health the child could get. The majority of children from the autobiographies also stated that the relationship with their biological parents was positive for their wellbeing. Consequences in the relationshipto the biological parents were to make it easier to keep contact with otherfamily members and increase the child's understanding of their placementin foster homes. Placements in foster homes can help the child’s development, although the majority of children were stigmatized and bullied at school.

Sekundär traumatisk stress definieras som ett psykiskt tillstånd som uppstår när en individ berörs av en annan individs trauma. Syftet med föreliggande studie var attundersöka socialarbetares kunskap och erfarenheter av sekundär traumatisk stress bland familjehemsföräldrar. Därtill ämnade studien utforska vilken generell kunskap socialarbetare har om sekundär traumatisk stress, vilken förekomst av sekundär traumatisk stress som socialarbetare som arbetar med familjehem ansåg att det fannsbland familjehemsföräldrar samt vilka metoder och potentiella strategier socialarbetare har för att bemöta sekundär traumatisk stress bland familjehemsföräldrar. Studien har en kvantitativ ansats för att samla in data från socialarbetare i Värmlands och Örebro län. Studiens resultat visade att en majoritet av de tillfrågade socialarbetarna: (1) Var bekanta med termen sekundär traumatisk stress. (2) Ansåg att familjehemsföräldrar riskerade att drabbas av sekundär traumatisk stress. (3) Använde vissa strategier och metoder för att bemöta sekundär traumatisk stress hos familjehemsföräldrar, men att majoriteten saknade en empiriskt beprövad metod. / Secondary traumatic stress is defined as the emotional distress that occurs when an individual learns about another individual's trauma. The aim of this research was to investigate what knowledge and experiences social workers have about secondary traumatic stress among foster care parents. It also aims to explore what general knowledge social workers have about secondary traumatic stress, to what extent social workers perceive that secondary traumatic stress occurs among foster care parents and what methods and strategies social workers have for prevention and intervention. The research design uses a quantitative approach to collect data from social workers in the Swedish counties of Värmland and Örebro.The findings of the study were that most of the social workers in the study: (1) Were familiar with the term secondary traumatic stress. (2) Thought that foster care parents were at risk of being affected by secondary traumatic stress. (3) Used certain strategies and methods for prevention and intervention, but that the majority lacked an empirically tested and approved method.