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    Context, identity and connection : an examination of resilience in New Zealand foster children : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2014) Cornelius, Gabrielle Marlaina
    The purpose of this research is to examine resilience in New Zealand foster children, with a focus on the relationships foster children form with the foster parents who care for them and the ways that resilience is built and displayed within foster care. While there is a range of international research examining resilience in children in state care, research into relational aspects of resilience is rare, particularly in a New Zealand context. This investigation involves one-on-one interviews and small focus groups with foster carers, asking open-ended questions about resilience, attachment and relationships to elicit their opinions and experiences with the children they have fostered. Using the process of thematic analysis, four major themes were developed, entitled (1) Participant understandings of resilience, (2) Identity, (3) Connection, and (4) Outcomes. These themes are compared to existing research, and new theories are proposed relating to the contextuality of resilience and the connection between a sense of identity and the building of supportive relationships with others. Two models are proposed to reconceptualise resilience in foster children, suggesting that behaviours typically seen as problematic may be resilient behaviours that have failed to adapt to a new environment, and that a strong sense of self and the ability to form meaningful connections with others are mutually reinforcing. The limitations of this research are discussed, in addition to implications for further research and suggestions for application in the foster care system.
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    Ties that bind : attachment formation in the maltreated preadolescent child placed in long term foster care
    (Massey University, 1999) Chinnery, Shirley-Ann
    While the Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989 enshrines the primacy of family placement for children in need of care and protection, it simultaneously acknowledges by way of S.13 (h) that for some children this may not be a viable, available or safe option and where such circumstances prevail, children are to be given the opportunity to develop an alternate psychological tie to caregivers other than their primary kin. lt is this small group of children who require long term alternate care that are of primary interest to this thesis. The legislative principle that mandates this practice is founded, in large part, on attachment theoretic assumptions. This conceptual framework also informs the current study. This research aims to investigate, by way of the case study method, the attachment experiences of a small sample of previously maltreated, New Zealand European preadolescent children in long term state care. The effects their attachment experiences have on the formation of a new attachment relationship with alternate caregivers and the facilitative or impeding role played by social workers and their organisation (NZCYPFA) in regard to the development of this relationship are examined. The field work involved a multimodal exploration of the above relationships and included four sets of participants: a key informant group, three social workers, five caregivers and three preadolescent children. Fundamental to this research is the need to identify factors integral to performing a social work assessment of attachment of both prospective caregivers and the preadolescent child requiring placement. Foster care literature, drawing on attachment theoretic constructs, would suggest that this process is imperative to making sound placement decisions and for ensuring placement stability (Thoburn, 1997; McAuley, 1996; Triseliotis, Sellick & Short, 1995). Attachment theory indicates that placement stability is linked to caregiver sensitivity and the development of relational mutuality (Brethefton, 1996; 1993; 1987; Howes & Segal, 1993; Marcus, 1991). These variables have also been associated with relational continuity which in turn has been implicated in positive developmental outcomes for children (Lyons-Ruth, 1996; Cicchetti, Toth & Lynch, 1995; Bowlby, 1988; 1982; 1980; 1973). This thesis documents similar findings, and concludes with a set of recommendations for social work policy, practice and future research.
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    Because we're family : a study of kinship care of children in New Zealand : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social Work at Massey University, Albany Campus
    (Massey University, 1996) Worrall, Jill M.
    Since 1989 child welfare policy and practice in New Zealand has been guided by the Children, Young Persons, and their Families Act (1989). This Act mandates placement with kin as the option of first choice for children in need of care and protection. However, there is an absence of New Zealand research on this practice. The few recent overseas studies showed that children placed in kin-based care have similar levels of physical, emotional and educational difficulties as children in stranger foster care and that the personal consequences for caregivers and their families are significant. The 1989 Act defines family in the widest sense and includes members of the extended family. Definitions of family serve different political interests, and this thesis compares the current structure of New Zealand families with the ideological constructs of family/whanau inherent in the 1989 Children, Young Persons, and their Families Act. This qualitative study describes the experiences of five families who have cared for abused and/or neglected kin children. The thesis develops an understanding of the transitions occurring in kinship care for the children and their families through both ecological and feminist theories, and focuses on the gendered, economic, and political environment in which kinship care is performed in New Zealand. The feminist caregiving literature comments on the social expectation that women will assume the caregiving role, and the effect that this has on their lives. This study shows that the task of caring for a kin child who has suffered abuse and neglect is taxing on both caregivers and the whole caregiving family, and not made easier by virtue of a biological relationship. Children placed with extended family and children placed in foster care with strangers are treated as two distinct populations in terms of both practice and policy, kinship care families being considerably under-resourced. This thesis shows that such a dichotomy is not justifiable, and that the knowledge gained from foster care research should be transferred to the kinship population. The 'invisibility' of kinship care allows the particular needs of this group to remain unaddressed. Data is urgently required in regard to numbers of children placed with kin, and the longterm outcomes for both the children and their families. A reconstruction of kinship care, using a critical theory framework, concludes the thesis and provides recommendations for policy, social work practice and future research.