寄養家庭是保護性兒少安置系統中重要不可或缺的照顧形式，寄養照顧者已從過去慈善性照顧者演化為半專業角色，本研究目的在於探討女性寄養照顧者如何理解自己所扮演之寄養照顧角色，期望從寄養照顧者自我角色定位的脈絡中反思現行安置處遇執行上之可能問題。本研究以質性研究方法，邀請8名曾經照顧受虐兒童之寄養媽媽進行深度訪談，研究結果發現，(1)寄養照顧者自我角色意識包含情感型、療育型、教養型及矛盾型等，(2)照顧角色實踐脆弱性為反應照顧困境卻受社工誤解、照顧關係中有限的管教權、僅是受託照顧者的安置決策局外人、遭受學校系統排擠而走進孩子的不利生態環境中。寄養照顧者具複合性角色，除社會與體制中所建構的公益性、半專業、契約性的照顧角色外，女性寄養照顧者本身發展出母性角色本質是在安置系統中可能最被忽略的。針對上述研究發現，對寄養照顧角色本質、寄養兒童福祉及現有寄養安置服務輸送體制提出反思與建議。

The foster family is an important and indispensable form of care in the protective placement system for children and adolescents. With professional development, foster caregivers have made progress from being charitable roles to semi-professional ones. The purpose of this research is to explore how female foster caregivers understand their role as foster caregivers. Under the context of self-positioning as a foster caregiver, it is hoped that the potential issues can be identified during the implementation of the current foster care placement process. This research used the qualitative research method to conduct in-depth interviews with 8 female foster caregivers who had cared for abused children in the past three years. The results of the study found that: (1)self-role awareness of foster caregivers can be categorized as the following four roles: emotional, therapeutic, parenting, and contradictory. (2)Role fragility upon practicing: In response to the dilemma of care, it was misunderstood by social workers as being insufficiently tolerant of children, limited control rights in the care relationship, only the entrusted caregivers placing decision-making outsiders, being excluded from the school system and entering the unfavorable ecology of children Environment. A foster caregiver is a compound role. In addition to the public welfare, semi-professional, and contractual care roles constructed in the society and the system, a maternal role a female foster caregiver develops may be the most neglected role in the placement system. In response to the above-mentioned research findings, reflections and suggestions are proposed, including the nature of a foster care role, the welfare of foster children, and the existing delivery system of foster care placement services.