Research has highlighted the many challenges that foster carers face in caring for children who have experienced adversity and has charted a growing mismatch between the numbers of children needing placements and the availability of carers. This review synthesises and evaluates the current empirical evidence on the causes and consequences of stress experienced by foster carers and the factors that lessen or increase it. PsychINFO, ASSIA, Web of Science and Google Scholar were searched for relevant studies, 15 of which met the specific inclusion criteria. The factors identified included both system variables, such as working in a wider service framework, and individual ones, such as children’s behaviour. One consequence of this stress was reduced foster carer retention. Scrutiny of the papers also revealed methodological issues related to sampling, research design and cultural variability. Topics for future research were identified, especially an analysis of the perspectives of people involved in the system around foster carers, such as social workers and the carers’ birth children. Clinical implications were also highlighted, most notably the promotion and provision of effective training and support and the development of integrated ways of working with services and foster carers’ families.

SummaryParent–infant psychotherapy (PIP) is a psychoanalytic intervention that aims to improve parental and infant mental health. There is uncertainty about the clinical effectiveness of this intervention, particularly in comparison with other interventions. Based on a limited number of trials, this month's Cochrane Corner review aimed to summarise the best evidence available. Although the review found some tentative support for PIP in relation to attachment outcomes, overall the evidence was of low quality and PIP was not found to be more effective than treatment as usual or other interventions. This commentary contextualises and summarises the findings, and considers their implications for researchers and clinicians.

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Research has highlighted the potential tensions and risk of disruption to care placements when foster carers have birth children living at home. Given the limited research attention given to these young people and the importance of retaining carers, it seems important for policy and practice to investigate the parent–child relationship in this context. Therefore, this study seeks to explore how the birth children of foster carers experience their relationship with their parents. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to analyse semi-structured interviews with eight such young people (aged 14–16 years). Three superordinate themes emerged: (1) relational processes that give value to my role in the family; (2) threats to our relationship; and (3) making sense as a way of managing the threats. Each of these contained several subthemes. While there were consistent patterns of experience, there was also individual variation. The findings suggest that the processes of ‘making sense’ and ‘feeling valued’ serve to buffer the impact of potential threats to the parent–child relationship. Theoretical implications include the application of a model that elucidates the relationship between the themes. This has clinical implications for understanding and informing the way services support both foster carers and their children.

Whilst it has been suggested that fostering involves being both a parent and a professional, little is known about how foster carers manage these roles. This study aimed to develop an explanatory theory and model of the processes involved in fostering looked after children and the relationship between the roles of parent and professional. Ten foster carers offering intended long-term placements to looked after children and five social care professionals who provide support to foster carers were interviewed. Data were analysed using grounded theory. A preliminary model was developed which suggested that the relationship between the two roles changed over time. Many described initially identifying with the parental role before experiencing challenges that necessitated also taking a professional one. Over time, these separate roles appeared to blend and become interconnected, such that foster carers became ‘professional–parents’. These findings extend our understanding of the complexity of the foster carer role and may link to existing role theories. They may also have important clinical implications for the support and training of foster carers, particularly in the early stages of the fostering journey. Further research, including the use of more diverse samples, is needed to extend these findings.