Being a mother means being a carer: the meaning of foster motherhood

The main goal of this research is to understand the importance of the mother figure for a child's mental health in a foster situation. Taking part in this study were four of the six mothers who work for the Foster Families Program promoted by the Ceará state government, and their respective foster children. The investigation method was characterized by means of a focal group including the foster mothers, which was supplemented by the use of drawings with the children. Documents from the program's coordinating institution were used in order to build the subjects' profile. Hermeneutic Phenomenology, based on Paul Ricoeur's theory, was used to analyze the discourses. Thus, the relationship established between the foster mother and the child or adolescent in her care can be interpreted as one which generates a bond and which is based on affection and attachment.

Adolescent; Child; Attachment behavior; Foster parents; Mental health