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Strengths of Aboriginal Foster Parents

Journal of Child and Family Studies volume 20, pages 279–285 (2011)Cite this article

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to identify the strengths of Aboriginal foster parents according to the foster parents themselves. A total of 83 Aboriginal foster parents participated in over the phone interviews that included the question “What are the main strengths you have as a foster parent?”. Responses to the questions were sorted by the participants and the sorted data were analyzed using multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis. Four clusters emerged from the responses to the question: (1) awareness abilities and skills, (2) cultural experience, (3) personal qualities, and (4) child as part of family. The clusters were compared and contrasted with available literature.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the foster parents who took the time to share their expertise with us. We would like to thank Candace Seymour and Cathy Wiebe. We would also like to thank Brian Ridd and Claudia Ash-Ponce. Also, thanks to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for their financial support for this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, University of Western Ontario, 1137 Western Road, London, Ontario, N6G 1G7, UK

    Viktoria Ivanova & Jason Brown

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  1. Viktoria Ivanova
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  2. Jason Brown
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Correspondence to Jason Brown.

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Ivanova, V., Brown, J. Strengths of Aboriginal Foster Parents. J Child Fam Stud 20, 279–285 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-010-9389-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-010-9389-0

Keywords

  • Aboriginal
  • Foster parents
  • Strengths
  • Culture
  • Child welfare