- Title
- Complex trauma in childhood: psychological growth in adulthood: making sense of the ‘Lived’ experience of out-of-home-care
- Creator
- McCormack, Lynne; Issaakidis, Gemma L.
- Relation
- Traumatology Vol. 24, Issue 2, Jun 2018 p. 131-139
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/trm0000139
- Publisher
- American Psychological Association (APA)
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2018
- Description
- The subjective voice of experiencing out-of-home care in the aftermath of removal from family-of-origin, is poorly researched. This phenomenological study explored the ‘lived’ experience of Out-of-Home Care (OoHC) from the perspective of four adult care leavers reflecting on their childhood. Seeking both positive and negative interpretations, semi-structured interviews were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Two superordinate themes: Unconditional is conditional; and Learning to walk with self; highlighted juxtaposed layers of complex traumatic distress and psychological growth for these participants. Conversely, as they navigated loss of family-of-origin and the expansive foster care system into which they were thrust, distress appeared to stimulate the emergence of self-reliance as a barrier to further traumatic loss. They spoke of nebulous and ambivalent commitment from new carers that repeatedly inhibited relational depth however, the occasional glimmer of genuineness was remembered and appeared to facilitate doing ‘it’ differently in adult life. Crucially this study highlights that foster parenting in OoHC has the potential to nurture healing from family-of-origin trauma but invariably contributes to cumulative distress upon earlier childhood trauma. As such, foster parenting requires a unique ability to engage relationally with traumatised children. Poor remuneration and screening, and lack of training in healing and reparative support for childhood trauma, will continue to risk the future adult mental wellbeing of children placed in OoHC.
- Subject
- Out of Home Care; foster care; posttraumatic growth; abuse and neglect; complex childhood trauma; Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1348229
- Identifier
- uon:30173
- Identifier
- ISSN:1085-9373
- Language
- eng
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