Table 3:

Qualitative Studies on Siblings in Foster Care

Author, Year	Sibling Separation	Sample/Procedures¹	Summary
Folman, 1998	Unclear²	N=90³, ages 8–14; interview with children	Sibling relationships perceived as positive. Some children were not told they would be separated from their siblings until they arrived at the foster homes.
Harrison, 1999 (in Mullender4⁴	One pair interviewed together; remainder had siblings living elsewhere	N=9, ages 11 to 20; interview with children	Siblings perceived as protective, easing transition into care, and providing a sense of identity. Feelings of loss and grief were associated with separating siblings. No negative experiences of sibling placement/relationships discussed.
James et. al., 2008	Mixed	N=14, ages 6 to 14; interviews with caregivers⁵	Caregivers mostly viewed sibling relationships positively. In cases of sibling conflict/abuse, caregivers kept siblings together due to fear of additional trauma from loss and placement instability.
Leichtentrit, 2013	All lived with at least one sibling	N=12, ages 7 to 14; interviews with children	Sibling relationships were viewed as both positive and negative; often, children had contradictory views of their siblings.
Sting, 2013	Lived with at least one sibling	N=varied⁶; ages 12 to 14; interviews with children	The sibling relationship was described as very important and held a central role in a child’s social network when in foster care.
Angel, 2014	Mixed	N=10, ages 4 to 12 at entry; interviews with children	Children define children as their siblings or not based on who they live with and how they perceive their social interactions. Biological siblings can be the most meaningful relationship, but not always.
Affronti, Rittner, and Jones, 2015	Unclear	N=18, ages 18 to 25 interviews with foster children alumni	Sibling separation perceived as positive and negative. Some said placement with siblings helped them to adjust and feel connected to birth families. One respondent felt separation from sibling was why they did not do well in foster care. Some stated separation was positive because they received extra attention from their foster families.
Wojciak, 2017	Goal of the camp was to reunite separated sibling groups, but some groups may have been placed together	N=178, ages 6 to 19; children answered open-ended survey questions	Siblings were characterized as people that children can rely on, are connected to, and fulfills them. No negative experiences of sibling placement/relationships discussed.
Wojciak et. al., 2018	Did not specify	N=15, foster parents, ages n/a; interviews with foster parents	Foster parents reported that sibling relationships should be maintained and if split, contact should be priority. Reports of negative consequences when split: acting out, shutting down, anxiety, worrying/wondering about sibling. Authors emphasized in discussion to educate parents that even with negative relationships, sibling relationships could still be beneficial/lifelong.