Motivational Modality as a Prognostic Characteristic of Psychological Readiness for Foster Parenting

The article presents an analytical justification for the relevance of studying the phenomenon of readiness for foster parenting. The priority of the motivational factor in assessing the psychological readiness for adopting a child is shown in psychological and pedagogical practices in preparing a substitutional family for a child. There is a marked deficiency in the qualitative psychological description of the multidimensionality of such a phenomenon as the motivation of psychological readiness for a very specific type of activity, as substitutional parenting as a multi-level education. The tasks of a specific empirical study are presented aimed at studying the qualitative specificity of various components of motivation for foster parenting. The used research methods are described: the author's version of the in-depth interview to determine the general psychological readiness for activities in foster parenting; the diagnostic battery for identifying various aspects of motivation for foster parenting, selected by expert evaluation by experienced teachers, psychologists and specialists of support services for foster families of the Tomsk region. Processing the results of the in-depth interview was carried out using the method of semantic differential in order to build a semantic space of general psychological readiness for foster parenting. A research sample of 195 people aged 28 to 63 years is described, among them were both those who had different experiences of substitutional parenthood, and those who so far have only expressed a desire to adopt foster children in their families. The results of multiple regression analysis of empirical data are presented, which allows revealing the qualitative specificity of the relationship between the general psychological readiness for foster parenting (dependent variable) and several significant characteristics of motivation to adopt foster children (independent variables). From the set of indicators reflecting different psychological "dimensions" of the phenomenon of motivation for foster parenting, those variables (predictors) are identified that bear a significant "diagnostic burden" in assessing the formation of general psychological readiness level to adopt a child. It seems that in this case there is every reason to talk about the phenomenon of motivational modality as a prognostic characteristic that can be used in the practice of preparing candidates for foster parents. The positive experience of testing the model of psychological and pedagogical support of preparation for foster parenthood is briefly presented, which is developed taking into account the characteristics of the dominant motivational modality of foster parents candidates.

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