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Developing and Evaluating Theory-Based Messages to Promote Foster Care

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 August 2025

Sofia Ferreira Open the ORCID record for Sofia Ferreira [Opens in a new window] ,
João Graça Open the ORCID record for João Graça [Opens in a new window]  and
Eunice Magalhães Open the ORCID record for Eunice Magalhães [Opens in a new window]
Sofia Ferreira*
Affiliation:
https://ror.org/014837179 Instituto Universitário de Lisboa , CIS-ISCTE, Portugal
João Graça
Affiliation:
https://ror.org/012p63287University of Groningen , the Netherlands
Eunice Magalhães
Affiliation:
https://ror.org/014837179 Instituto Universitário de Lisboa , CIS-ISCTE, Portugal
*
Corresponding author: Sofia Ferreira; Email: ssfaa@iscte-iul.pt
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Abstract

Foster care is the preferred out-of-home placement for children at risk. However, the number of children in child protection systems exceeds the availability of foster families, highlighting the need for recruitment campaigns. Despite the growing development of such campaigns, their results have not been evaluated. This study aimed to design and experimentally evaluate messages to increase awareness, willingness, and intention to foster. Data were collected from 405 adults aged 25 years or older (Mage = 40.4, SD = 10.5, range 25–72; 67% women) in Portugal. The results revealed no differences in awareness, willingness, and intention between message conditions. However, the message that focused on dealing with and overcoming the anticipation of separation from the foster child elicited higher levels of transportation and perceived effectiveness compared to a baseline message. Additionally, transportation mediated the differences in perceived effectiveness, awareness, willingness, and intention between messages. These findings highlight the need for more research on narrative-based approaches to promote foster care.

Keywords

foster carefoster familiesnarrative communicationrecruitment strategiestransportation

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 28 , 2025 , e15
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de la Psicología de Madrid

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