Empathy As an Essential Tool in Successful Foster Parenting

With over half of the children involved in the child welfare system residing with licensed foster families (DHHS, 2014), it is critical to examine factors associated with successful foster parenting. Empathy is the ability to understand others’ experiences while effectively regulating one’s emotions and maintaining healthy boundaries and self-other awareness (Gerdes, Segal, & Lietz, 2010).  In a child welfare context, greater empathy has been linked to increased attachment and nurturing parent-child relationships (Marcus, 1991; Rycus & Hughes, 1998), improved relationships among child welfare workers and biological parents (Mullins, 2011), and reduced placement disruption. Empathy can help foster caregivers better understand a child’s history and trauma as well as their individual needs. This study sought to understand how empathy is manifested in successful foster parents and contributes to resilience from the perspective of foster parents.

A mixed methods, sequential explanatory design was used with a purposive sample of licensed foster families in a southwestern state, who had fostered for over 5 years and rated within the health range on the Family Assessment Device (FAD; Epstein, Baldwin, & Bishop, 1983) through an online survey. Twenty of the 71 families who fit these criteria were selected to ensure diversity among racial/ethnic group, geographic location, and family makeup. Families were asked to participate in two in-depth interviews to understand how these families have successfully managed the stress associated with fostering. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed by two researchers using NVivo10 software. To increase trustworthiness of the findings, several strategies were used, including the use of an audit trail, reflexivity, peer debriefing, triangulation by observer, and member check.

Findings suggest that foster parents showed empathy for the children they care for, their families, and the child welfare workers they work with. The presence of interpersonal empathy allowed families to manage stress better, understand the children they cared for and their needs, and navigate difficult circumstances in a healthier way. Many were able to gain greater insight or understanding of the situations they were involved in and grow from it, to establish clear boundaries – emotionally and physically to protect themselves and the children they care for. Families also described how important it was for them to model empathy with the children in their care for their other children and family members.

Empathy emerged as critical in helping foster parents understand a child’s behavior and needs. Families who were able to effectively regulate their emotions, understand the feelings and thoughts of others, engage in perspective-taking and have a clear sense of the self and other, were more able to help others understand, address, and advocate for the needs of the children. Families used empathy to establish effective boundaries to deal with challenges of trauma and negative experiences.  Empathy can be measured, taught, and cultivated (Gerdes, Segal, Jackson, & Mullins, 2011), and should be included in pre-service and ongoing training with foster families. The presence of empathy can lead to longevity in fostering and better outcomes for the children and families.