Invariant and Variant Sociopsychological Characteristics of Successful Foster Mothers

271

Abstract

As part of the development of tools for sociopsychological assessment of prospective foster parents, we conducted a factorization of the array of data obtained with a set of diagnostic techniques and identified the contribution of each component to the success of foster care. Invariant and variant characteristics of successful foster mothers are highlighted (N=128).Foster mothers were selected based on the expert opinion of the professional community and trained as coaches of foster families. It is shown that successful foster mothers have a number of characteristics that allow them to raise foster children over a long period of time. These characteristics should be considered as criteria for selecting potential reliable guardians. Among the invariant characteristics are: the viability of family, the dominance of motivation of altruism and self-realization in children, high levels of emotion management, extroversion, consciousness, emotional stability, parental competence. The variant characteristics are as follows: the experience of foster parenting, the intensity of motivation aimed at resolving family and personal crises, ‘replacing’ a child, solving demographic problems, filling an empty nest, as well as the level of emotional intelligence and its components (except emotion managment); personality traits (level of compliance, openness to experience); altruistic investment. The invariant-variant approach enables us to address the sociopsychological portrait of the foster mother in its integrity.

General Information

Keywords: foster mothers, invariant and variant characteristics, sociopsycho¬logical portrait, orphan child

Journal rubric: Developmental Psychology

Article type: scientific article

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/pse.2021260612

Funding. The reported study was funded by the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation “Psy¬chological, pedagogical and socio-legal justification of the variability of psychodiagnostic procedures for assessing prospective foster parents, children and employees of organizations for orphans and children without parental care”, no.073-00041-21-03 dated 11.06.2021.

Received: 22.11.2021

Accepted:

For citation: Oslon V.N., Odintsova M.A., Semya G.V., Zinchenko E.A. Invariant and Variant Sociopsychological Characteristics of Successful Foster Mothers. Psikhologicheskaya nauka i obrazovanie = Psychological Science and Education, 2021. Vol. 26, no. 6, pp. 149–163. DOI: 10.17759/pse.2021260612. (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.)

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Information About the Authors

Veronika N. Oslon, PhD in Psychology, Docent, Professor, Chair of Developmental Psychology named after L.F. Obukhova, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9625-7307, e-mail: oslonvn@mgppu.ru

Maria A. Odintsova, PhD in Psychology, Docent, Head of the Department of Psychology and Pedagogy of Distance Learning, Faculty of Distance Learning, Moscow State University of Psychology & Education, Moscow, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3106-4616, e-mail: mari505@mail.ru

Galina V. Semya, Doctor of Psychology, Professor, Professor of the Department of Developmental Psychology named after Professor L.F. Obukhova" Faculty of Educational Psychology, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Professor of the Department of Psychological Anthropology of the Institute of Childhood of the Moscow Pedagogical State University., Moscow, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9583-8698, e-mail: gvsemia@yandex.ru

Elena A. Zinchenko, Lecturer, Chair of Pedagogical Psychology named after Professor V.A. Guruzhapov, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5776-2933, e-mail: zinchenkoea@mgppu.ru

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