Fostering secure attachment: experiences of animal companions in the foster home

ABSTRACT

This study sought to use attachment theory as a lens through which to explore children’s relationships with animal companions in the context of long-term foster care. Inductive and deductive thematic analyses of longitudinal case study data from eight children and their foster families suggested (a) that children’s relationships with animal companions satisfied attachment-related functions in their own right and (b) that animal companions also helped to soften perceptions of foster caregivers, facilitating opportunities for the development of closeness. Animals in the foster home may therefore play an important part in helping children to find and develop secure, warm, and loving relationships.

KEYWORDS:

• Attachment
• foster care
• animal relationships
• family
• social work

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the children, their families, and the foster agency. We would also like to acknowledge that the study was part of the fulfilment of Dr Rockett’s doctoral thesis in the Department of Education, University of Bath, UK.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).