"Glemmer at de ikke er eget kjøtt og blod" : en kasusstudie om tilknytningsrelatert tilrettelegging ogveiledning når små barn flytter i fosterhjem /

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to find out if the child welfare system can get help in a practical method to guide fosterparents in a way that care could promote, and lead to secure attachment of children placed in foster care. The background for this study is based on the theory of attachment from Bowlby. The problem area was confined to the use of “Parent Attachment Diary” and its function as a tool to guide foster parents when they accept infants between the ages of 10 and 28 months.The study is carried out as a single case study based on a foster family without biological offspring, and their foster children, one of whom is adopted. The foster mother made an account of events according to the guidelines given in the “Parent Attachment Diary” during the two first months of placement. An analysis of these diaries revealed that the child moved towards a secure behavior already during the first two months of placement. The foster mother firmly believed that the support and use of these diaries are instrumental in bringing about a closer relationship with foster parents and enable them to meet the child’s need for comfort and nearness, even if the child did not give any indication that, that was needed. I conducted “Working Model of the Child interview” four years later. Foster mother had a balanced description of the child and I have reason to believe that the child still has a secure attachment with the family. Foster mother also said that there were other decisions related to child care that were important during the process of preparing them as a secure base for the child. This involved practical and emotional preparations, co-operation with the short-term foster family where the child was first placed, as well as the question of adoption. Adoption has not made any difference to the child’s emotional involvement, but looked upon rather more as a relief because the child’s future was clarified.The study will show that preliminary preparations and provisions of support in the usage of the attachment theory, can be significant for a foster family in the early stages of a placement.