Exploring the Impact of Foster Carer Detachment on Short-term Foster Carers in the UK

IMPACT OF FOSTER CARER DETACHMENT
Investigating the Impact of Foster Carer Detachment on Short-term Foster Carers in the
United Kingdom
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IMPACT OF FOSTER CARER DETACHMENT
Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction..............................................................................................................1
Statement of Findings............................................................................................................1
1.2 Strengths and Limitations of the Study............................................................................1
1.2.1 Strengths of the Study...............................................................................................1
1.2.2 Weaknesses of the Study...........................................................................................2
Chapter 2: Literature Review.....................................................................................................2
2.1 Question Context (1000words)........................................................................................2
2.1.1 Research Question.....................................................................................................2
2.1.2 Background for the Research Question.....................................................................2
2.1.3 Relevance of the Research Question.........................................................................3
2.1.4 Policy involved and Theoretical Background...........................................................4
2.1.5 Practical Issues Associated with Foster Care Detachment.......................................4
Chapter 3: Methodology............................................................................................................5
3.1 Search Strategy.................................................................................................................5
3.2 Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria......................................................................................6
3.2.1 Inclusion Criteria in the Study..................................................................................6
3.2.2 Exclusion Criteria for the Study................................................................................6
3.3 Data Collection and Analysis...........................................................................................7
3.3.1 Data Filtering............................................................................................................7
3.3.2 Data Analysis Process...............................................................................................7
3.4 Research Ethics................................................................................................................8
4.0 Results and Discussion.........................................................................................................8
4.1 Results..............................................................................................................................8
4.2 Thematic Discussion......................................................................................................12
4.2.1 Impacts of Detachment on Emotional Wellbeing...................................................12
4.2.2 Effects of Detachment on Personality of Carers.....................................................13
4.2.3 Ongoing Concern regarding the well-being of the minors......................................14
4.2.4 Carers’ Effort Recognition......................................................................................14
4.2.5 Relevance and Implications of the Findings on the Research Question.................14
4.2.6 Implications for Future Research............................................................................15
Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendation..........................................................................16
5.1 Conclusion......................................................................................................................16
5.2 Limitations of the Study.................................................................................................16
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IMPACT OF FOSTER CARER DETACHMENT
5.3 Recommendations..........................................................................................................17
References................................................................................................................................18
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Chapter 1: Introduction
Statement of Findings
Short-term foster carers are likely to experience challenges that are linked to detachment
from the children under their care. The role of foster carers is to provide a parental role in the
lives of foster children. Detachment can have a serious impact on minors as it can affect their
future ability to love and form attachment in their adulthood. The findings of the study
indicate that the feelings of attachment that carers develop towards foster children make it
harder for them to let go after the period of care ends. As a result, short-term foster carers fear
detachment from the children due to the emotional and psychological pain and heartbreak
that arises from the experience. The foster parents are likely to develop feelings of
insignificance since their dedication to the children is short-lived and may end up not seeing
the minor ever again. As such, the foster carers develop a coping mechanism where they
avoid attachment at all cost since they will end up losing the foster child in the near future.
The process of detachment can be mentally exhausting and emotionally consuming as the
foster carers try to adjust to the constant loss they have to experience every time the foster
child in their care is given a permanent home.
1.2 Strengths and Limitations of the Study
1.2.1 Strengths of the Study
The research conducted a study of articles that focus on short-term foster carers who are
allocated children for a short period before they are returned back to their parents or are given
a long-term foster patent. The articles selected were given a timeline from 2009, which
ensures that the findings of the research are still relevant in the current context of foster care.
The study also focuses on the wide range of impacts from different perspectives including
emotional effects and psychological impacts which gives it a realistic approach towards the
lives of short-term foster carers. The focus on journal articles also gives the findings of the
research credibility and increases the reliability of conclusions drawn from the study. ()
suggested that reliability is a key component of research and proves that the results are
consistent. The ability to obtain data from credible sources increased the validity and
reliability of the research. The research also relied on primary sources which have conducted
a field study providing more objective results. As a result, the findings drawn was based on a
real-life experience that had been investigated by the authors of the journal articles. Lastly,
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IMPACT OF FOSTER CARER DETACHMENT
the articles selected were peer-reviewed which means that they can be trusted to provide
quality and reliable data.
1.2.2 Weaknesses of the Study
Investigating foster care provides a complex challenge that is difficult to research and provide
credible conclusions from a single investigation (Kerrane & Hogg 2013). The research sought
to investigate the effects of detachment on short-term carers. However, the perception of
detachment and understanding of the impacts is likely to vary from one individual to another
and the specifics have not been discussed in this research. As a result, the study does not
provide an in-depth analysis of the interpretation of detachment and how it is likely to affect
the ability to analyse its impacts on the foster carer.
The study selected a secondary research approach where data was obtained from articles that
discussed the investigation of other scholars. However, it was evident that there were few
articles that provided the specific analysis that the research was looking for. In particular, it
was discovered that very few articles address the issue of foster care detachment. Therefore,
the findings of the research do not provide a clear picture of the issue of short-term foster
carer detachment. Therefore, it would be necessary for a field investigation to be carried to
provide an in-depth understanding of the impact of detachment on foster carers. Moreover,
the use of secondary sources prevents first-hand interaction with the foster carer which would
have been critical in understanding the various emotions and psychological outcomes they
experience as a result of detachment.
Chapter 2: Literature Review
2.1 Question Context (1000words)
2.1.1 Research Question
What is the Impact of Foster Carer Detachment on Short-Term Foster Carers in the United
Kingdom?
2.1.2 Background for the Research Question
Foster care is a common practice in the UK due to the focus of ensuring children are well
cared for and protected in society from potential abuse or irresponsibility (Pemberton, 2011).
Therefore, foster care has been considered as an important part of social care with the goal of
promoting the wellbeing of the child and proper upbringing that will lead to responsible
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adulthood. According to George (2014), foster caregivers are charged with the role of giving
day-to-day care to the minor. This means that they should have a good emotional as well as
psychological attachment to the minors. However, a challenge arises when the foster children
need to be returned to their parents or have been assigned a permanent foster parent. As a
result, short-term foster carers have to learn how to attach and later detach when the foster
child is gone (Kirton, 2007). Foster carers often develop an emotional bond with the child
and consider them as part of their family. The carer is tasked with the responsibility of loving
and caring for the foster child only to be later expected to let go of the child after the period
which can sometimes be several months or years. As such, the process of detachment can be
a traumatising experience for the carers. Although the process of detachment is considered as
necessary to enable the child to be readily integrated into their old or new family, an in-depth
study on the corresponding effects related to the process is largely lacking (Kirton, 2007).
Hence, it is on this basis that the research question is considered worth investigating.
2.1.3 Relevance of the Research Question
Conducting an investigation into the effects of detachment on short-term carers is relevant as
it will provide an in-depth understanding of the challenges that they go through in their
profession. Since the wellbeing of the foster carer is considered critical to providing quality
fostering services, it is necessary to understand the factors that are likely to have a negative
impact on their capacity to provide quality care to foster children. The investigation of
detachment on short-term foster carers will help shed light on the challenges they face while
caring for foster children which can inform on how their experiences are likely to affect the
outcomes of foster care. The psychosocial theory presents that individuals grow through the
contact they have with others (Plimmer, 2014). As such, the interaction between foster carers
and children impacts how they grow. As a result, understanding how the wellbeing of carers
is affected by detachment can help understand how the negative outcomes can influence care
foster children to receive and their future outcomes.
The implementation of intervention strategies that target foster carers depends on the
identification of challenges and patterns in behaviour in the fostering profession (Smyke et
al., 2009). Therefore, since detachment is one of the factors that affect the mental wellbeing
of carers, an investigation on the factor is likely to provide insights on how to develop
intervention strategies that will be effective at improving the level of care delivered by foster
parents. The social cognitive theory outlines how close relationships with minors affects their
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