‘In my heart forever:’ Foster caregivers’ dedication, grief, and couple relationship quality

Abstract

ABSTRACT Many dedicated foster caregivers form a strong attachment to the children in their care, leaving them emotionally at-risk for when a child is removed from the home (e.g. displacement, reunification). The grief they experience when a child leaves may influence their other relationships (e.g. couple relationship). Survey data were collected from a statewide random sample of foster caregivers. The final sample included foster caregivers who had experienced the removal of a foster child from their home within the previous 12 months of participating in the study (n = 56). A moderated mediation analysis was conducted to determine the associations between dedication to fostering, grief, couple relationship quality, and relationship efficacy. Findings suggest that highly dedicated foster caregivers are more likely to experience higher levels of grief after a child leaves their home, which is negatively associated with their couple relationship quality. However, relationship efficacy was found to buffer these effects.