Foster carer experiences of vicarious trauma: A qualitative interpretive meta-synthesis

Vicarious trauma (VT) is a form of indirect traumatisation that typically affects professionals working with trauma victims, leading to psychological distress, impaired relationships and diminished care quality. Foster carers are at risk of VT due to their close contact with traumatised children, yet little research has examined VT in this context specifically. Moreover, foster carers’ experience of VT appears to be unique when accounting for distinct features of the role and overlap with other conditions. This study reports on experiences of VT in foster care using a qualitative interpretive meta-synthesis (QIMS) framework. 15 qualitative studies were identified, synthesising data that were consistent with carers’ experiences of VT. Four themes were developed: emotional impact of VT described changes to carers’ emotional selves; embodied impact of trauma explored adaptations to exhaustion; forced changes and adaptations concerned with coping strategies, worldview changes and impaired relationships; and system failure dealt with inadequacy of support and its compounding effects on VT. The findings suggest that VT affects foster carers in unique ways, and provide insight into carers’ adaptations to trauma in the care environment, demonstrating that these adaptations amount to negative changes in carers’ worldview, self-image and relationships. These insights give direction for future research to examine VT in this context.