Qu’accueille la famille d’accueil ?

Abstract

IntroductionThis study examines the reasons of failure of placement of children and adolescents in host family. It highlights what is repeated and what moves from the biological family to the host family and to the institution as well. MethodThe study was conducted about ten children and adolescents met in a house for children of social character. The tools used are interviews at admission and accompaniment and selected folders based on the primary endpoint of the failed investment in host family. For the analysis, we constructed a grid of reading in four areas: elements of the host family, the age of the child at the time of the placement, the reasons for the departure from the host family and significant elements of the child's history. ResultsThe observation of the ten situations shows entanglement of past and current issues in biological and host family systems. It reveals the repetition of traumatic experiences in host families not yet symbolized in the biological family. AnalysisThe life of the child in host family is a background of manifest and latent violence. It is impacting the quality of the relationship and moves parental conflict to other institutional or family scenes. It appears that the host family welcomes not only the child to protect in accordance with its primary task but also hosts or is supposed to host the failures of supported previous history of any biological family. DiscussionOn another note, in addition of the complexity of affective links, it hosts an imaginary child, resonating with the imaginary child of biological parents. The host family rejects both the biological family and the child and thus rejects the real object of his mission to welcome and protect the child. This study shows that beyond the child, the foster family is the receptacle of the ghosts of family past and that far from rejecting the unbearable child, rupture reflects a difficulty to mourn the imaginary child.