The love is spread out’
How birth children talk about their experiences of living with foster children
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11940510 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kate Stoneman (University of Plymouth, corresponding author), Rudi Dallos (0000-0001-8733-5708, University of Plymouth) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 43 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 169-191 |
| Publication date | 2019-07-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Adoption & Fostering (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0308-5759 • E-ISSN: 1740-469X |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0308575919848907 |
| OpenAlex | W2960752602 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 39 |
This article examines the experiences of birth children with a foster child (or children) in their family. Specifically, it explores how birth children’s attachment history influences how they discuss their emotional needs and the ways in which attachment strategies help shape the nature of the children’s accounts of their experiences. Eight birth children in fostering families were interviewed. These enquired about the children’s childhood using questions from attachment interviews, and employed integrated ‘sculpts’ to explore their experiences of fostering. An attachment-informed Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach found four superordinate themes: preparation and knowledge about fostering; disruptions to family life; altered roles within families; and making and breaking connections. Additionally, the use of defensive processes was detected in how the children managed the experience; they could minimise their needs and feelings in the family. Such defensive processes are likely to influence how children express their experience of having a foster child in the home. The study was limited by its restricted demographic range ‒ mostly white females. The findings can be used to support birth children in families who foster through increasing preparation, matching foster children to families, providing support around the disruptions to family life and supporting children to say goodbye
Attachment theory · Developmental psychology · Feeling · Interpretative phenomenological analysis · Qualitative research · Sociology · Superordinate goals · Child Welfare and Adoption · Family and Disability Support Research · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Psychology · Social Psychology
Attachment and Loss Volume I Attachment
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis
Bracketing interviews
Disruptions in foster care
Family transitions following the birth of a sibling
Children's participation in foster care placements
Grief, loss, and separation
Sons and daughters of foster carers and the impact of fostering on their everyday life
We are caregivers, too”
Grief and Growth of Bereaved Siblings as Related to Attachment Style and Flexibility
Fostering as Seen by the Carers' Children
Seen but Bot Heard? Addressing the Needs of Children Who Foster
How do ‘Children Who Foster' Perceive Fostering
Inside the Foster Family
The Impact of Fostering on Foster Carers' Own Children
They needed the attention more than I did’
Recognising Birth Children as Social Actors in the Foster-Care Process
Hearing Quiet Voices
The Child Attachment Interview
The origins of attachment theory
| Citations per year | 0.75 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2022 - 2024 (3) |
| Highly cited | No |