This project investigated the subjective perceptions of family reported by people who
have experienced long-term foster care. Foster care involves removal from their
biological family of children deemed to be in need of care, and their placement in
alternative homes. Foster children may spend varying amounts of time in care, and
may have multiple caretakers. The research began with three broad questions: Who
do people who have experienced long-term foster care think of as their family? How
close do they feel to them? How would they like their family to be? Two exploratory
studies were conducted. In Study 1, 43 children in long-term family foster care (CFFC
participants) aged between 8 and 15, who had been in care for more than one year,
and 42 matched controls, completed the Kvebaek Family Sculpture Technique (KFST).
They chose figures to represent family members and placed them on a chess board,
using the squares to indicate emotional closeness or distance from each figure. A
representation of their �ideal� family was also obtained. Most CFFC participants
nominated their foster family as their family, and few changed their ideal
representation. In Study 2, 39 adults aged between 19 and 65 (AFCC participants),
who had been in either family foster care or cottage homes for at least one year, and a
comparison group of 39 matched controls, completed the KFST according to
perceptions of family now, as children, and an ideal family. An in-depth, semi
structured interview on perceptions of family followed. For the majority of AFCC
participants, connections to foster family when they were children had dissipated over
time. Nevertheless, about half of the AFCC participants were still strongly and
positively attached to one set of foster parents. The major determinant of attachment
to foster parents appeared to be a nurturing environment, while a non-nurturing
environment was the most prominent feature of failure to attach to foster parents.
Visiting by biological parents contributed to continued attachment to them, however,
relationships with biological parents were reported as ambivalent, distant, and
unsupportive. Foster care participants appeared similar to those in other studies,
however, the two samples were small, and may not be representative in terms of ideas
about family membership. Caution is necessary in any attempt to generalise from the
findings to a wider foster care population. Implications for theory, policy, and clinical
applications are discussed, and suggestions made for further research.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/216482 |
| Date | January 1996 |
| Creators | Gardner, Isabel Helen, helengardner@latrobe.edu.au |
| Publisher | Swinburne University of Technology. |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://www.swin.edu.au/), Copyright Isabel Helen Gardner |
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