Subjective perceptions of children with institutionalization experience about family relationships at the initial stage of substitute care

Children with institutionalization experience have numerous problems in general development, behavior, and social-emotional functioning, including close relationships with a caring adult. At the same time, the question remains open about what happens in the child’s subjective picture of the world when living conditions change from institutional to family, how the child perceives new caring adults and relationships with them. The study’s aim is to examine the subjective perceptions of family relationships in children with institutionalization experience (typically developing and with disabilities) placed in substitute families. Substitute families’ group included 159 children (78 typically developing, 81 with disabilities; aged 5–12 years); biological families’ group — 125 children (63 typically developing, 62 with disabilities; aged 5–13 years). Study was conducted using the Kinetic Family Drawing projective technique (R. Burns, S. Kaufman). Children were examined 2–4 weeks after placement in a family. Findings: children’s subjective perceptions of relationships depend on the family type they live in and their developmental characteristics; perceptions of anxiety, conflict, and hostility were significantly higher among children in substitute families, while perceptions of the favorable situation were significantly lower among children in substitute families compared to children from biological families. The results are described through the influence of environment quality on the child’s development and his relationship with close adult. Studying children’s subjective perceptions of family relationships will help track the process of developing relationships with substitute parents, as well as better understand the specifics of key problem areas and identify targets for specialized professional assistance to substitute families.

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