The impact of fostering a child with a history of sexual abuse

The impact of a foster child’s history of sexual abuse on foster families has been studied, although never from a multilevel family perspective. Therefore, in Project Iris narratives were collected on the expertise, needs... [ view full abstract ]

The impact of a foster child’s history of sexual abuse on foster families has been studied, although never from a multilevel family perspective. Therefore, in Project Iris narratives were collected on the expertise, needs and experiences of foster family members concerning the care for a child with a history of sexual abuse prior to placement in foster care. The narratives of 17 foster parents and 10 biological children of age were collected through several episodic interviews, while an activity book containing narrative eliciting activities was used to collect the voices of 2 foster children (11 and 14 years of age) and 2 under aged natural children (both 12 years of age). A synthesis of the narrative for each individual participant was created and per family-unit we compared the syntheses of the participating family members. This extensive process of comparing and contrasting from a bird eye view resulted in eight family narratives.

The family narratives show a foster family-paradox: it seems that on the one hand foster families are committed to let the foster children benefit from the everyday activities, and they seemingly do. Yet, the healing everyday life can also contain triggers of the sexual abuse the children suffered. Foster parents mention how they face numerous challenges in rearing these children as parents, but also as couples and as a family-unit. The (natural and foster) children in the families reveal their own struggles, and highlight their wish for the family to remain a warm and safe place. Despite all the challenges they face, most families highlight how the positive aspects outweigh the negative. The results of this study add to our understanding of the complexity of foster care, and will be used to optimize trauma-sensitive care for foster children with an abuse history.