Abstracts

Adoption & Fostering abstracts are selected by Miranda Davies. Although care is always taken to be as exact as possible, the editors cannot guarantee the accuracy of material received from outside sources.

Adoption

COONS Kelly D, WATSON Shelley L, YANTZI Nicole M, et al.

Adaptation in families raising children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Part II: what would help

Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability 43(2), 2018, pp.137‒151.

This article aims to build upon the experience of family adaptation and to describe one unique stressor experienced by adoptive parents of children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) that may hinder successful family adaptation. Fifty-one adoptive parents of children with FASD from 36 families in Ontario, Canada, participated in a mixed methods study. Parents completed two questionnaires ‒ the Family Crisis Oriented Personal Scales and the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress–Friedrich’s Short Form ‒ and participated in in-depth, semi-structured interviews, which were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Parents expressed that improved knowledge and awareness of FASD from healthcare professionals, teachers and society as a whole would help in their adaptation to raising their children with FASD. Specifically, they discussed the lack of recognition of the symptoms, the lack of understanding about what a diagnosis of FASD means and the need to promote better messages of prevention. In conclusion, the findings display a clear need for more supports for families, particularly in the area of increasing public and professional knowledge about the realities of raising a child with FASD.

LEE Bethany R, KOBULSKY Julia M, BRODZINSKY D and BARTH Richard P

Parent perspectives on adoption preparation: findings from the Modern Adoptive Families project

Children and Youth Services Review 85, 2018, pp. 63‒71.

Preparing prospective adoptive parents for receiving a child into their family is an important task for child and family professionals. This study uses data from the recent Modern Adoptive Families survey to understand parent perspectives on their preparation for adoption. Logistic regression (n = 917) and qualitative thematic analysis of adoptive parents’ comments about their adoption preparation were conducted to understand aspects of the experience that were satisfactory (n = 623) or dissatisfactory (n = 283). Child emotional and behavioural problems significantly predicted parent dissatisfaction with adoption preparation. Major themes for satisfactory aspects of pre-adoption services included receiving information about adoption in general and, more specifically, about clinical and special populations, and parenting tools and strategies. In addition, parents identified opportunities to connect with others touched by adoption and access to specialised post-adoption services as helpful. Conversely, parents expressed dissatisfaction when information was lacking or withheld, when they had quality concerns with the worker or agency and when there was a dearth of services and supports following adoption. Implications of these findings include the need for adoption mental health competent training for adoption professionals to better support families preparing for or experiencing adoption.

O’NEILL Denise; LOUGHRAN Hilda and McAULEY Colette

Diversity, ambiguity and fragility: the experiences of post-adoption sibling relationships

British Journal of Social Work, 48(5), July 2018, pp. 1220‒1238.

This article explores findings from an exploratory study on the significant aspects of sibling relationships post adoption reunion. The qualitative data were drawn from in-depth interviews with 33 adopted people who had met birth siblings in adult life. The complex pathways of adopted people towards reunion are outlined. The findings demonstrate that although most participants had maintained contact with the birth siblings they had met in adult life, these relationships were also fragile and ambiguous in nature. Important insights are gained from participants who made recommendations in relation to post-reunion social work support.

Fostering

WILLIAMS David

Recognising birth children as social actors in the foster care process: retrospective accounts from biological children of foster carers in Ireland

British Journal of Social Work 47(5), 2017, pp. 1394‒1410.

While a wealth of literature exists on the topic of fostering, limited research has been published on the experiences of the biological children of foster carers. Literature that exists identifies increased recognition of the importance of birth children’s contribution to successful foster care placements and the prevention of placement breakdown. This article reports findings from an interpretivist study that explored the retrospective experiences of 15 adult birth children of foster carers (aged between 18 and 28 years) in Ireland. Using semi-structured interviews, birth children’s experiences of fostering processes and their interactions with fostering professionals are explored. Findings indicate that birth children are not passive observers in how fostering influences their daily lives. Instead they use strategies to influence fostering processes, in particular to protect their parents and birth siblings, while also having feelings of responsibility for their foster siblings. Findings suggest that, despite the complexity of the fostering task, professionals should recognise and acknowledge the input of birth children to fostering. The study also suggests the value of training that encourages foster carers to continually include the opinions of their own children in fostering decisions.

Other

AADNANES Margrete and GULBRANDSEN Liv Mette

Young people and young adults’ experiences with child abuse and maltreatment: meaning making, conceptualizations, and dealing with violence

Qualitative Social Work 17(4), July 2018, pp. 594‒610.

Exploring children and young people’s own understanding of experiences with abuse and maltreatment is an important part of taking their right to participation seriously. By applying a narrative theoretical framework, this article explores and analyses young people’s and young adults’ stories of being the target of violence and abuse as children, and their meaning making and definition of such experiences, then and now. The overall findings show that the participants’ varied and nuanced perceptions of what constitutes violence were much dependent on contextual, relational and temporal aspects. Furthermore, many participants reported psychological and emotional abuse and neglect to be the most hurtful of their experiences of maltreatment. Finally, the analysis sheds light on how responses to abuse and maltreatment change and depend on the children and young people’s definition of their situation through time and context. The article contributes with qualitative knowledge to the social work research and practice field, on how abuse and maltreatment unfold in and affect children and young people’s lives seen from their own points of view.

POWER Luke and RAPHAEL Dennis

Care leavers: a British affair

Child & Family Social Work 23(3), August 2018, pp. 346‒353.

Individuals in and leaving care within the UK experience numerous dilemmas that include a lack of supportive housing and potential homelessness, lower educational attainment and occupational status and greater likelihood of moving into poverty. These adverse situations, all of which are interrelated, shape their present and future health status. Models of these processes usually focus on individual behaviours/characteristics, the consolidation of positive identities through the development of supportive networks and specific social policies germane to this group. Although informative, these models neglect many key contextual factors that shape these outcomes. The authors present a model of care‐leaving that incorporates developments in the political economy of health literature to show how differing welfare state arrangements shape health by mediating the distribution of economic and social resources over the life course for populations in general and for those in and leaving care specifically. The key recommendation suggested by this model is to focus upon developing public policies to address the vulnerable situations care leavers experience associated with skewed income distributions, lack of housing affordability, weak employment standards, and lack of access to higher education typical of liberal welfare states such as the UK.

RODRIGUEZ Darlene Xiomara, SKOTT-MYHRE Hans and SKOTT-MYHRE Kathleen

Our kids: unaccompanied minors and the question of care

Child & Youth Services, online 25 April 2018, https://doi.org/10.1080/0145935x.2018.1448707

The question of care and what it means both conceptually and practically in the designated arena of child and youth care is a vexing one in the 21st century. Without a doubt, there are increasing numbers of young people who are either demonstrably in need of care or perceive themselves to be either lacking adequate care or simply existing outside those social spaces where care is available. Perhaps there is no better exemplar of the contested set of relations that is contemporary childhood than those young people traversing national borders. Some of these young people travel with family members, but an ever-increasing number travel unaccompanied by parents or any other form of adult relation. Of these, a group particularly at risk are those without legal documentation. We would argue that this group of young people is urgently in need of our attention as child and youth care workers and scholars.

WOODMAN Elise, ROCHE Steven, McARTHUR Morag and MOORE Tim

Child protection practitioners: including children in decision making

Child & Family Social Work 23(3), August 2018, pp. 475‒484.

This article presents findings from a study with 467 child protection practitioners in Australia to determine their practice responses and views on children's participation. The practitioners, recruited from five state jurisdictions, completed an online survey responding to case studies designed to determine the extent to which they would seek and include children's perspectives in decision-making, and their confidence in talking to children. We report on practitioners’ responses to a case study of a five‐year‐old girl with suspicious bruising where the mother reports domestic violence. Based on previous research, it was hypothesised that the child’s young age would lead to low levels of confidence in consulting with the child and giving weight to her perspective. In contrast to the findings of other research, our results show that almost all workers report that they would speak with the child, would be confident doing so and would give weight to the child’s perspective. Our discussion explores the potential reasons for the difference in these findings compared with other research, including the experience of practitioners, increased child‐centred policy in Australia, multiple understandings of participation, and variation in children and practitioner views of participation.