Developing Grief Care for Children Living in Foster Care

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K20915
• Project/Area Number (Other): 18H05718 (2018)
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund (2019); Single-year Grants (2018)
• Review Section: 0108:Sociology and related fields
• Research Institution: Fukushima College
• Principal Investigator: YAGI TAKANORI 福島学院大学, 公私立大学の部局等, 講師 (70827344)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-08-24 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 児童養護施設 / 喪失体験 / グリーフケア

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Ｉnstitutionalized children are expected to experience more loss than children living at home. However, there has been little research and practice on institutionalized children's experiences of loss and the grief care that accompanies them. There is no such thing. The present study was conducted to examine the actual conditions and necessity of grief experiences among institutionalized children. In this study, we worked to clarify the We asked about the frequency of loss that children in the homes are likely to experience and the difficulty of handling them for the staff. As a result, we found that there were two factors of loss that could not be recovered, such as loss of the familiar environment and death. The results suggest that there is a need for grief care for those who have experienced loss in institutional settings. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to the experience of loss in institutional life, and to provide grief care as necessary.

Free Research Field

福祉心理学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究では,これまであまり触れられてこなかった,施設児童が体験する喪失体験やそれに伴うグリーフ体験の実態とその必要性を明らかにすることに取り組んだ。その結果,彼らは様々な喪失体験を日常的に経験していることが示唆された。また，死と関連する喪失体験について，施設職員は特に強く扱いにくさを感じていることが示された。
こうしたことから，施設児童に対する心理的ケアについて考える際，過去のトラウマやアタッチメントに焦点を当てるだけではなく，施設生活の中で少なくない喪失を体験していることを考慮し，施設生活の中にある喪失体験にも目を向け，必要に応じてグリーフケアを行う必要があることが明らかとなった。