Sons and daughters of foster carers: Exposure to risk and harm

Abstract

Children who are looked after by the state are some of the most vulnerable in society and have usually experienced neglect, abuse and other trauma. As a result of their experiences, many exhibit challenging and/or aggressive behaviour. Currently, in England, around 68% of the children entering the care system are placed with foster carers, many of whom also have their own children living in the home. This study used narrative interviews to gain the views of the biological children of foster carers about their experience of being brought up in a fostering family. Twelve participants aged 18 and 54 were recruited using convenience and snowballing sampling strategies. Findings revealed that the foster carers own children and fostered children often developed close relationships and that fostered children frequently shared detailed accounts of the abuse they had experienced before entering care. Knowledge of the abuse often left the carers' own children both troubled and in a dilemma about what to do with the information. They also revealed that some of the foster carers' own children had been abused by their foster siblings and had chosen not to disclose this information to their parents or others. Several of the participants expressed ongoing feelings of distress when discussing their experiences and those of their foster siblings, which raises questions about how best to support this important group of children and young people.