Perception of Accompanying Families of Children Deprived Of Family Support in Boarding Schools

The present study focused on the significance of being an accompanying family of a child deprived of family support in a boarding school that carry with him a biography of trauma and abandonment. A family that chooses to become an accompanying family receives these children during vacations, and their purpose is to create a positive family model and create binding and supportive relationships. The qualitative study is based on semi-structured in-depth interviews with accompanying families.

In the analysis of the interviews, four main themes emerged:

1. Commitment - the human challenge of being an accompanying family.
2. The significance of accompaniment to the parents` identity, the marital relationships, and parenting of biological children.
3. From strangeness to Intimacy - The relationship with the accompanying child focuses on the process of developing the positive and negative relationship and feelings in the relationship between the child deprived of family support and the family.
4. The perception of the interaction with the staff in the framework of the out-of-home

The discussion of the research findings focused on two main axes:

1. Search for the meaning of being an accompanying family: parental boundaries and space.
2. The second axis: promoting forces and forces that restrict a relationship.