Self-protection in adolescents in foster care.
OBJECTIVE
Adolescents in long-term foster care experience significant health and mental health problems. Little is known about their perceptions of the impact of foster care.


METHODS
Seventeen adolescents were interviewed in their foster group homes. Dimensional analysis was used to develop theory on the impact of foster care.


RESULTS
Adolescents in foster care engaged in self-protection strategies secondary to experiences of devaluation and uncertainty in foster care, including guarding foster child status, maintaining a defensive posture, distancing self, and keeping relationships superficial. Self-protection resulted in a veneer of self-reliance and social detachment.


CONCLUSIONS
Strategies are suggested to address devaluing experiences and promote positive identity development in foster care.
Kools
S
S
University of California, San Francisco, Department of Family Health Care Nursing, USA. skools@itsa.ucsf.edu
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D005260:Female; D005581:Foster Home Care / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D012648:Self Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology*; D012649:Self Concept; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires