The relationship between foster mothers' inclusive functions and the attachment styles and behavioral adjustment levels of the children under their foster care

This study aims to examine the relationship between the inclusive functions of foster mothers and the attachment styles as well as the behavioral and adjustment levels of the children under their care. The findings obtained from this research are expected to contribute to strengthening the foster care service by drawing attention to the inclusive function dimension of foster mothers in the status evaluation, matching-orientation, and monitoring processes of the foster care service model and providing solutions and recommendations for the relevant field. The study participants consist of 58 children aged 7-12 who have been in foster care for at least one year in Istanbul and their foster mothers. Within the scope of the research, the Kerns Security Scale was used to assess children's attachment styles, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was employed to evaluate their behavioral and adjustment levels, and the Parent-Child Inclusive Functions Scale (PCIFS) was utilized to measure the inclusive functions of foster mothers. Additionally, a demographic information form was used to collect relevant background data. The reliability of the scales used in the study was assessed through internal consistency analysis, and data were analyzed using correlation analysis, the Mann-Whitney U test, and the Kruskal-Wallis test. The normality assumption of the obtained results was evaluated by examining skewness and kurtosis values. Additionally, descriptive statistics were calculated to analyze the central tendency and distribution characteristics of the variables. The analyses revealed that some demographic variables showed significant differences in light of the main problems, but that secure attachment and psychosocial difficulties did not exhibit a direct significant relationship with parental-child inclusive functions and marital relationships. Keywords: Foster mother, child in care, inclusive function, attachment style, behavioral problems, adaptation difficulties, foster care service model