Development and validation of a new scale to assess motivations for fostering

• Author(s): Alves, Stephanie ; Camilo, Cláudia ; Pereira, Luísa ; Grangeia, Helena ; Rodrigues, Leonor Bettencourt ; Negrão, Mariana ; Ornelas, Sandra ; Soares, Isabel ; Baptista, Joana
• Date: 2025
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/54144
• Origin: Veritati - Repositório Institucional da Universidade Católica Portuguesa
• Subject(s): Family foster care; Fostering; Intention; Motivation; Psychometric properties; Scale development
• Document Type: Research article
• Language: English
• Contributor(s): Veritati

Description

This study examined the psychometric properties of a newly developed scale to assess motivations for fostering. A total of 447 Portuguese adults completed online the MIAF–Motivations for Fostering Scale (MIAF-MFS; ProChild CoLAB & SCML, 2024) and reported on sociodemographic data, perceived knowledge about family foster care, and intention of becoming a foster family. The exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed a 4-structure factor. Convergent validity was shown by significant associations between the MIAF-MFS factors and perceived knowledge about family foster care and intention of becoming a foster family. The MIAF-MFS factors presented are acceptable to high reliability.