2011 Volume 25 Issue 2 Pages 160-173
Given the increasing complexity and diversity of children's social environments in Japan, the number of children unable to be raised in their birth family and who need to receive social care has increased in recent years. Social care includes familial, institutional, and group-home care. According to a survey administered by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in 2008, about 38,000 children were not being cared for by their birth parents. Rather, they were being cared for in foster families, residential childcare institutions, or infant homes. Focusing on the typical familial care environment of foster families, this study aimed to investigate (1) how foster parents' positive attitudes about fostering affect foster children's sense of fulfillment in life, selfacceptance, and frustration, (2) whether these feelings vary depending on when the placement started, and (3) whether foster parents' attitudes toward fostering change depending on the placement length. A self-report questionnaire was administered to 175 foster parents. Results demonstrated that (1) foster parents' attitudes toward fostering affected children's feelings such as sense of fulfillment in life, self-acceptance, and frustration, (2) early-stage placement and foster environments with continuity are important for foster children to gain a strong sense of fulfillment and self-acceptance, and (3) more than 1 year of placement is needed for foster children to feel a sense of fulfillment.
