Keywords

Relational Permanence; Foster Care; Foster Youth; Foster Parents

Abstract

Research suggests that lack of permanency is associated with an increased risk of aggression, mental instability, and delinquent behavior in children (Leve et al., 2012). A crucial component of permanency involves establishing stable connections, including relational permanence with peers and adults, which are believed to enhance the well-being of foster youth (Wekerle et al., 2009). Further, the literature suggests a relationship between a parent’s adverse traumatic experiences, their attachments to their own parents, and their ability to regulate their foster child’s relational permanence to supportive adults and peers. Foster parents who have experienced trauma are often insecurely attached to their biological parents (Reisz et al., 2023). Parents with insecure attachments are associated with lower parental involvement and consistency (Jones et al., 2015); it is hypothesized that these characteristics among foster parents may be associated with a failure to maintain relational networks in foster youth. The first research question examined the association between foster parents’ previous adverse experiences of trauma and hardship and their attachment to their mothers. The second question assessed the relationship between the quality of foster parents’ attachment to their mother and the relational permanence of foster youth. The third investigated how foster parents’ attitudes toward and behaviors in co-parenting were related to their youth’s relational permanence.

Participants were recruited through foster parent associations via an online survey to test the relationships between foster parents' characteristics and foster youths’ relational permanence. Participants completed an adapted version of the Youth Connections Scale, the Inventory of Parents and Peer Attachment (IPPA), questions regarding foster parents’ exposure to hardship and trauma, and items measuring foster parents’ involvement in and willingness to facilitate relationship maintenance among foster youth.

For the first research question, data analysis was conducted via a comparison of mean with foster parents’ experiences of trauma and hardship as independent variables and a foster parent’s attachment to their mother as an independent variable, measured via the Inventory of Parents and Peer Attachment. The second research question ran a series of bivariate correlations to determine the relationship between the quality of foster children’s relationships, frequency of contact in foster children’s relationships, and attitude towards and behaviors of co-parenting. Similarly, the third research question utilized bivariate correlations to determine if there was a relationship between the quality of attachment to one’s mother, as measured by the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment, and the quality or frequency of relationships in foster youth.

The results failed to indicate a significant relationship between foster parents’ experiences of trauma and hardship and their attachment to their mothers. Furthermore, the data did not reveal any notable correlations between foster parents’ maternal attachment and the quality or frequency of relationships in fostered youth. The data did not suggest a correlation between co-parenting behaviors or attitudes and the quality or frequency of foster youth relationships with family contacts. However, a significant relationship was revealed between foster parents’ attitudes toward co-parenting and the quality of their fostered children’s relationships with both adult and child relatives outside of their immediate family.

Thesis Completion Year

2024

Thesis Completion Semester

Fall

Thesis Chair

Steen, Julie

College

College of Health Professions and Sciences

Department

School of Social Work

Thesis Discipline

Social Work

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus Access

None

Campus Location

Orlando (Main) Campus

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Rights Statement

In Copyright