‘This unusual lifestyle is full of highs and lows’: Exploring social harms with kinship carers in the Northeast of England

Kinship carers are relatives or close friends who raise children who are unable to live with their birth parents. Kinship care families received little political attention until recently and have been viewed as complex and problematic. This article presents findings from a participatory research project with a kinship carers group from the Northeast of England. Drawing on categories of social harm, the article expands understanding of the experiences of kinship carers and their families, moving away from individualised narratives to recognise the social, political and economic factors that influence their lives. Fifty-three kinship carers completed an online survey, the responses of which were analysed deductively to understand their experiences of physical and mental health harms; autonomy harms; and relational harms. The findings provide a unique, theoretical contribution to existing literature on kinship care and draw attention to the need to address structural issues that prevent families from flourishing.