Abstract
Foster parents are faced with unique stressors that are not applicable to other types of parents, which can lead to increased levels of perceived stress and decreased subjective well-being (i.e., a subjective measurement of one’s own general happiness). Despite extensive research in self-care, stress, and subjective well-being across many different populations and demographics, applying these concepts to foster parents has not been widely explored. The current study aimed to explore the benefits of practicing different self-care skills amongst foster parents. Specifically, it was hypothesized that practicing self-care would decrease perceived stress which in turn would increase subjective well-being in foster parents.
Participants were limited to currently licensed foster parents and were gathered through word-of-mouth via foster parent support groups and social media. Ninety-four participants completed a survey that asked about their stress levels, life satisfaction, positive and negative emotions, and how often they engaged in different self-care methods. The data collected from this survey were analyzed with SPSS Amos utilizing structural equation modeling to create a path model.
Findings from the current study suggest that environmental and interpersonal self-care were the highest predictors of lower perceived stress. The results also suggested that lower levels of perceived stress predicted higher levels of subjective well-being in foster parents. In conclusion, there was partial support for the study hypotheses; specifically, some methods of self-care predicted lower stress in foster parents, suggesting that self-care can mitigate the effects of stress on subjective well-being.