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Flemish Foster Mothers’ Perceptions of Support Needs Regarding Difficult Behaviors of Their Foster Child and Their Own Parental Approach

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Abstract

Family foster care is a valuable, but vulnerable type of out-of-home placement. Adequate support of foster parents is an important factor for placement success. This requires an accurate assessment of the support needs of foster parents. This paper focuses on the support needs of foster mothers concerning difficult behavior of the child and their own parenting behavior. Data were gathered from 282 foster mothers. 46 % of the foster mothers needed support on at least one behavior of the child, 40 % on at least one parenting behavior. Foster mothers, who felt less competent to deal with the child, expressed a higher support need on both areas. A high support need concerning difficult behaviors was further predicted by the foster mother’s age, the type of foster care, and the number of biological children. A high support need concerning parenting was further predicted by the quality of support by the foster care worker and the number of foster children. Careful monitoring of all types of foster care situations with special attention to problem behaviors and how to handle them could make this type of out-of-home-placement more effective.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical and Lifespan Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium

    Femke Vanschoonlandt, Frank Van Holen, Johan Vanderfaeillie, Skrällan De Maeyer & Caroline Andries

  2. Opvang vzw afdeling Brabant, Brussels, Belgium

    Frank Van Holen

Authors
  1. Femke Vanschoonlandt
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  2. Frank Van Holen
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  3. Johan Vanderfaeillie
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  4. Skrällan De Maeyer
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  5. Caroline Andries
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Correspondence to Femke Vanschoonlandt.

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Vanschoonlandt, F., Van Holen, F., Vanderfaeillie, J. et al. Flemish Foster Mothers’ Perceptions of Support Needs Regarding Difficult Behaviors of Their Foster Child and Their Own Parental Approach. Child Adolesc Soc Work J 31, 71–86 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-013-0310-8

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