Issues of Family Sociology Regarding Foster Car

Abstract

    This paper discusses how to analyze foster care from the point of view of family sociology and clarifies what issues should be taken up. It assesses the conflicts that arise among foster family members as their actual family life differs much from what the family laws and family norms suggest, and categorizes the conflicts as 1) family relation management, 2) identity management, and 3) a support system reducing the burdens of management. Furthermore, those conflicts are considered from the point of view of the family sociology of “a family's diversification” and “socialization of a child's care.” Through this consideration, it implies that family sociology should analyze 1) how the “standard family” influences the “nonstandard family” in every phase (the role in a family, a scene, and a family's life cycle) and 2) how foster parents' consciousness of being “parents” affects the relationships with their foster children.