Parents adopting or fostering children with trauma histories and their network of relationships: Changes, stressors, and supports

Youth removed from the care of parents or primary caregivers often experience the dual trauma of both maltreatment and separation from their home and community. This can result in challenging behaviors that contribute to placement instability. Simultaneously, many caregivers find services for post-adoption and fostering to be insufficient in meeting their needs.

Despite the importance of supportive relationships for the wellbeing of foster and adoptive caregivers, there has been little research on how these caregivers perceive their personal and professional relationships. The current study aimed to address this gap in the literature.

Participants included 36 families from the United States who had acted as either long-term foster caregivers or who had adopted a child. The current study utilized focus group data. Data were analyzed using iterative thematic coding through a constant-comparative method. Themes included the importance of peer support and well-trained professionals for reducing stress as well as the ways that systemic challenges, a perceived lack of competent professionals, and perceived judgment and misunderstanding across relationships exacerbated stress. Finally, caregivers identified their experience of many relationships as ambivalent and changeable, including their relationship with a child's biological family. Both personal and professional relationships can create or ameliorate stress for foster and adoptive caregivers. Professionals aiming to support these families should work with the larger family system, receive adequate training in trauma-informed practices, and utilize clear, consistent communication.