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BJSW Advance Access originally published online on September 5, 2005
British Journal of Social Work 2005 35(8):1283-1301; doi:10.1093/bjsw/bch213
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© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The British Association of Social Workers. All rights reserved.

Risk and Resilience in Long-Term Foster-Care

Gillian Schofield and Mary Beek

Dr Gillian Schofield is a Senior Lecturer in Psychosocial Sciences and Co-Director of the Centre for Research on the Child and Family, School of Social Work and Psychosocial Sciences, University of East Anglia, UK.

Mary Beek is a Senior Research Associate, Centre for Research on the Child and Family, University of East Anglia, UK, and Fostering Team Manager, Norfolk County Council, UK.

Correspondence to Dr Gillian Schofield, Co-Director of the Centre for Research on the Child and Family, School of Social Work and Psychosocial Sciences, Elizabeth Fry Building, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK. E-mail: g.schofield{at}uea.ac.uk

The concept of resilience provides a necessary framework for understanding the varied ways in which some children do well in the face of adversity. The debate on resilience in children has shifted from an emphasis on factors to an emphasis on processes and mechanisms and from identifying resilience to promoting resilience. Children in long-term foster-care have experienced a range of early adversities which continue to affect their self-esteem, self-efficacy and capacity to cope with developmental challenges. Risk and protective characteristics in the foster-child, the foster-carers, the birth family and the agencies involved with the child will interact in complex ways to produce upward or downward spirals. This article reports on a longitudinal study of children in long-term foster-care, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. It provides a psychosocial model that links inner and outer worlds, developmental theory and social work practice, to explore why some children appear to be making good progress while others continue to experience multiple developmental difficulties.

Keywords: resilience, risk, long-term foster-care


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