Citation

Luke N, Coyne SM. Child Fam. Soc. Work 2008; 13(4): 402-410.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1365-2206.2008.00565.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Foster parents are in a unique position to improve the self-esteem of children in their care, which may be lower than that of their non-fostered peers. According to Harter's dual-influence model, both general support or attachment and domain-specific support contribute to self-esteem. The current study used this model to explore the ways in which foster parents had influenced the self-esteem of a sample of five adults with differing foster care experiences. Retrospective interviews were used to gather memories of high self-esteem from time spent in foster care. A thematic analysis of the interview transcripts supported Harter's model, and provided a number of examples of ways in which foster parents could boost children's self-esteem. The model was further extended to show the importance of ‘normality’ and inclusion for this sample of fostered adults. Further research on this topic is recommended with a view to widening the scope of foster carer training beyond attachment theory.