Exploring the lived experiences of informal and legal order kinship carers

Abstract

Section A
Context: Kinship care has been advocated by many countries in circumstances where children are unable to remain in the care of their biological parents. For children looked after by relatives through informal arrangements, challenges can arise in relation to finance, social, and emotional stressors, and can impact the wellbeing of carers and children. This review synthesises literature on the experiences of children and carers in informal kinship arrangements to better understand these arrangements.

Methods: A literature search was completed across five databases and Google Scholar. 12 qualitative papers were identified for the review’s aims and the CASP tool was used to critically appraise the paper’s methods and findings. A meta-ethnography approach was used to synthesise papers findings.

Results: Seven papers explored experiences for the carer, and five those for children. From the synthesis, three third order constructs were identified: ‘the carer-child relationship’; ‘the impact of a wider context’ and ‘navigating the microsystem’.

Implications: Findings are discussed within the wider context of literature available. Implications are considered both for future research and for clinical psychology practice, including the importance of access for carers to supports and services to maintain placement stability and good outcomes for both carers and children.

Section B
Context: Kinship care has become the encouraged form of care in the UK when children are unable to remain living with their parents. While benefits of kinship care have been explored, there is less research on lived experiences of carers living in informal and legal order arrangements. This study aimed to explore the stories of carers in these arrangements using a narrative approach.

Methods: Recruitment used purposive sampling, and nine kinship carers took part in a one-one interview asking for them to tell their story of becoming and being a kinship carer. Narrative analysis was used to explore the findings and identify individual, community and societal narratives within their stories.

Results: Within narratives, becoming a kinship carer had a significant impact on participants role identity, financial circumstances, and highlighted value in community networks. Societal discourses of moral responsibilities within families were identified and how arrangement titles and postcode lotteries influenced access to support and services.

Implications: Additional social and psychological support is required for kinship carers in informal and legal order arrangement, and definitions of arrangements require clarifying to ensure they can access adequate financial allowances. Limitations of the study involve low participant diversity and research implications are discussed.

Date of Award	2025
Original language	English