Publication year: 2011
Source: Children and Youth Services Review, In Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available online 23 July 2011
Lena, Hedin , Ingrid, Höjer , Elinor, Brunnberg
This paper provides a glimpse into young people’s experiences and understandings of everyday life during their initial stages of placement in various types of foster families. The way family interactions strengthen or weaken the social bond between foster youth and foster family is focused upon. In this study the young people in kinship foster families reported the strongest social bonds to their foster families and the adolescents in traditional foster families the weakest. This is in line with previous research. However, youth in network foster families with whom they were not so close prior to placement also reported rather strong…
Highlights: ► Youth in kinship foster families have the strongest social bond to the foster family. ► Youth active choice of network foster family strengthens their bonds to the family. ► Youth in traditional foster families have the weakest social bonds to the family. ► Mutual activities and laughing together are crucial in all types of foster families. ► Influence through negotiations may strengthen foster youth’s agency and adaptation.