Exploring paternal involvement in kinship care and the lived experience of Grandparent Special Guardians

Paper 1 is a narrative literature review of nine papers exploring the current evidence base of paternal involvement in kinship care. Findings indicated that paternal involvement may be influenced by the characteristics of the kinship care placement, the fathers’ relationship with others and caseworker practice. Further, findings suggest that the quality of relationship between a father and their child could positively affect the child’s wellbeing. This review is a novel first attempt to understand influences of paternal involvement and what this might mean for children in kinship care who appear to have less contact with their fathers than mothers.

Paper 2 is an empirical study that utilised Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to explore the lived experiences of Grandparent Special Guardian (GSGs). Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysis revealed eight Group Experiential Themes (GETs) and 13 sub-themes. These themes highlighted that GSGs experience social, emotional, relational and financial difficulties through taking on the role and received minimal to no support for these. The findings suggest that more whole family support may help to reduce these difficulties experienced.

Paper 3 is an executive summary created to provide an accessible account of the empirical study for the participants who took part. A GSG provided feedback on the content and layout of this summary in an attempt to make it as accessible as possible. This paper can also be disseminated to professionals in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and Local Authorities as well as the general public. Within this summary the aims, methods, findings and recommendations are discussed.