Foster fathers, who care for and have a unique opportunity to positively influence the at-risk children who are placed in their home, may struggle to establish a salient foster father identity due to a lack of societal clarity about their role and conflicting views about their importance within the child welfare system. However, we lack theoretical and empirical knowledge on foster fathering. Thus, a nuanced conceptual understanding of the factors and processes that influence the development of foster father identity, which influences the health and involvement of the father–child relationship, would provide insight into supporting foster fathers in establishing healthy, involved relationships with foster children. In this article, we summarize the existing literature on fatherhood and father identity in general; introduce a theoretical framework describing the unique role, identity, and experiences of foster fathers in the United States; and propose recommendations and implications for future research.

中文翻译：

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养父身份：一个理论框架

养父照顾并有独特的机会积极影响被安置在家中的高危儿童，但由于社会对他们的角色缺乏明确的认识，并且对他们的看法存在冲突，因此可能难以建立突出的养父身份。在儿童福利系统中的重要性。然而，我们缺乏关于养父的理论和经验知识。因此，对影响养父身份发展的因素和过程进行细致入微的概念性理解，这些因素和过程会影响父亲与儿童关系的健康和参与度，这将为支持养父与养子建立健康、参与的关系提供洞察力。 . 在本文中，我们概括地总结了关于父亲身份和父亲身份的现有文献；介绍一个理论框架，描述美国养父的独特角色、身份和经历；并提出建议和对未来研究的影响。