Contact with parents from childhood to adulthood – a longitudinal study of children in kinship care and non-kinship care

ABSTRACT

Previous research on parental contact for children in foster care shows that contact frequency is significantly related to parent’s gender and placement type. Yet very few studies have explored the impact of gender and type of placement on parental contact over time. Based on longitudinal quantitative data from kinship care and non-kinship care placements in Norway, we analyse contact between children and their birth parents at three timepoints: childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. The study shows different contact patterns for children’s contact with mothers and fathers. For most of the children, the possibility of contact with the mother was established from the first timepoint and contact occurred rather frequently throughout childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Regular contact between fathers and children in childhood, on the other hand, was less common, and this could develop in different directions: either towards children coming into contact with their father later in life or not at all. From a longitudinal perspective, we can say that the most significant changes evolved around children’s contact with their fathers, while contact with mothers was more stable.

ABSTRAKT

Tidligere forsking om kontakt mellom foreldre og deres barn i fosterhjem, viser sammenheng mellom foreldres kjønn og type fosterhjemsplassering. Basert på longitudinelle kvantitative data fra slektsfosterhjem og andre fosterhjem i Norge har vi analysert utviklingen av kontakt mellom barn og foreldre ved tre tidspunkter: barndom, ungdomstid og voksenliv. Studien viser ulike kontaktmønstre for mødre og fedre. For de fleste barna i studien var muligheten for kontakt med en eller begge foreldre til stede ved første måletidspunkt. De fleste hadde regelmessig kontakt med mor fra barndom til voksenliv. Jevnlig kontakt med far i barndommen var sjeldnere, og dette kunne utvikle seg i ulike retninger: enten ved at barn kom i kontakt med far senere i livet eller ingen kontakt. Analysen av longitudinelle data viser at endringer i kontakt mellom barn i fosterhjem og deres foreldre, i størst grad var knyttet til barnas kontakt med fedre, mens kontakten med mor var mer stabil.

KEYWORDS:

• Parental contact
• kinship foster care
• non-kinship care
• longitudinal study

SØKEORD:

• Foreldrekontakt
• slektsfosterhjem
• fosterhjem
• longitudinell studie

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 https://www.regjeringen.no/globalassets/upload/bld/lover/barnevernloven-engelsk-01-01-2010.pdf.

2 The Norwegian Foster Care Association conducted a survey in 2020 where around 1000 foster parents participated.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jeanette Skoglund

Jeanette Skoglund is associate professor, Regional Centre for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.

Geraldine Mabille

Geraldine Mabille is senior engineer, Regional Centre for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.

Renee Thørnblad

Renee Thørnblad is professor, Regional Centre for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.