The effect of family contact on well-being and development of fostered children in Eswatini
Phumuzani Mpofu & Nobandile Nosimilo Matsebula
Abstract
Fostered children in the Kingdom of Eswatini often struggle to maintain ties with their biological families. This qualitative study utilized qualitative research approach, guided by Cultural Historical Activity Theory to assess the extent family contact in formal foster care centres in the kingdom of Eswatini contributes to the overall well-being and development of children. It also identifies the challenges and barriers in facilitating and maintaining family contact in foster care centres. Data was collected through focus group discussions and interviews with twenty-five participants. Results indicated that contact with biological family members helped fostered children sustain family bonds, decrease anxiety and aggression, and stay informed about family affairs. The study suggests maximizing the use of phone calls and social media, allowing the fostered children a reasonable number of days to visit their families, child parent therapies, and introducing more family funny days to enhance family contact among fostered children.
Keywords
biological family, cultural historical activity theory, qualitative research, fostered children
Author information & Contribution
Phumuzani Mpofu. Corresponding author. PhD, Post Doc, The University of Witwatersrand School of Human and Community Development. Department of Psychology. Email: mpofup89@gmail.com
Nobandile Nosimilo Matsebula. Masters Candidate at the University of Free State South Africa.
"All authors equally contributed to the conception, design, preparation, data gathering and analysis, and writing of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript."
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Funding
This work was not supported by any funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement
This study was conducted in accordance with the ethical guidelines set by the Declaration of Helsinki (1964). The conduct of this study has been approved and given relative clearance(s) by Department of Social Welfare Eswatini (Deputy Prime’s Office).
AI Declaration
The author declares the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in writing this paper. In particular, the author used ChatGPT in correcting grammar and punctuations in this manuscript. The author takes full responsibility in ensuring proper review and editing of contents generated using AI.
Notes
Acknowledgement
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Cite this article:
Mpofu, P. & Matsebula, N.N. (2025). The effect of family contact on well-being and development of fostered children in Eswatini. International Review of Social Sciences Research, 5(1), 269-288. https://doi.org/10.53378/irssr.353164
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