Sexual Development Issues of Children in Japanese Residential Care Facilities and Staff Responses: A Qualitative Study

This study explores the unique challenges of the Japanese child welfare system with a specific focus on residential foster care facilities. In Japan, the foster care system has yet to be fully developed, resulting in many children with no parental care being placed in institutional settings. This study examines how staff at residential foster care facilities perceive and respond to children’s sexual development, with the goal of identifying the need for training and support in managing related issues. Ten staff members from five children’s welfare facilities participated in semi-structured interviews, which were qualitatively analyzed to identify themes in staff perceptions and responses to children's sexual development. The results revealed four themes of staff perception: (1) psychological distance from other people, (2) difficulty associated with responding to precocious sexual development, (3) importance of forming attachments, and (4) insufficient sexual education. The study revealed that despite staff awareness of sexual issues among children, they struggled to respond effectively, often relying on trial-and-error approaches to sex education. Furthermore, the lack of specialized sex education programs placed a significant burden on staff. To address this gap, developing targeted programs and providing expert support would help alleviate staff workload and better support children's needs.