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The inside journey through care: A phenomenology of attachment and its loss in fostered children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 February 2016

Jennifer McIntosh
Jennifer McIntosh*
Affiliation:
Family Transitions, 28 Princes Street, Carlton North, Vic 3054 Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

This paper combines clinical and research insights to systematically explore the experiences of infants and children through the course of repeated attachment disruptions and loss. It sets out core findings from a phenomenological study of the experience of multiply placed foster children, focussing on the experience of self that children accumulate in their journeys through long term care, as they lose, find and re-form their primary attachments. Findings point to what constitutes ‘good enough’ foster parenting for children with histories of traumatic attachment and loss.

Type
Research Article
Information
Children Australia , Volume 28 , Issue 3 , 2003 , pp. 11 - 16
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2003

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