Barnen - ett gemensamt ansvar En kvalitativ studie om familjehemsföräldrars motivation och upplevelser av socialt stöd i Paraguay

Abstract

This qualitative study is about motivation and experience of support among non-kinship foster parents in a child welfare agency (NGO), in Paraguay. The empirical data where collected through out six semi-structured qualitative interviews, with totally eight foster parents participating. The aim of the study was to describe and analyze what motivates foster parents and how they experience support from their formal and informal network. Further the objective was to investigate how support (may) affect motivation and enable good foster care. Theoretical concepts such as solidarity, intrinsic and extrinsic motivations as well as social support where used to analyze the data. The results show that there are many different motives and motivations (intrinsic and extrinsic) that correlate in the decision to become and continue to be a foster parent. Among them social involvement, the wish to make a difference in a child’s life, have something to offer as a family and personal satisfaction seems to be the most frequent reasons. Even though the foster parents have perspectives in common, their motivations are mainly influenced by their individual desires, experiences and their particular family situation. It also seems that starting with fostering are a coincidence rather then an active choice. The foster parents receive formal and informal support and it seems that both are of importance to keep them motivated. It also seems that the different kinds of support can contribute to a successful placement and prevent breakdowns. The experience of support that all foster parents seems to have in common and highlight is the reliable access to a formal network, 24 hours a day. The formal support also includes practical help, information, emotional support as well as feedback. All of these types of social supports appear to be important, but the importance and the experience of support, vary depending on the family as well as the foster child and its particular situation, history and age. In general the foster parents in this study are satisfied with the support promoted by the agency but some foster parents are asking for more support before the placement and claiming they need more information about the child. The results also show that it’s important to individualize the support as a consequence of foster parents and foster children’s different needs. The present study supports much of the existing literature on the experience of foster parents but there are also some results that are new. For example there are not many studies focusing on the informal support in foster care. The results show that informal support provided by the foster parents own children as well as the extended family is of great value. The biological children’s attitudes and their participation tend to affect the motivation among the foster parents and foster care in Paraguay seems to be a family project and a common responsibility.