V poslednie gody v Rossii proizoshli sushchestvennye izmeneniya v predstavleniyakh obshchestva o tom, gde dolzhny rasti i kem vospityvat'sya deti, rastushchie bez popecheniya roditeley. Esli ranee gospodstvovalo ubezhdenie, chto zabota o takikh detyakh dolzhna lech' na plechi gosudarstva (dom rebenka, detskiy dom, shkola-internat), to segodnya predstavleniya ob optimal'nom reshenii problemy sirotstva sozdanie sistemy vospitaniya detey v tak nazyvaemykh "zameshchayushchikh sem'yakh". S kazhdym godom rastyet chislo zhelayushchikh vzyat' na vospitanie rebenka, ostavshegosya bez popecheniya roditeley. No naravne s etim otmechaetsya i rost chisla povtornykh otkazov ot rebenka, vzyatogo na vospitanie v zameshchayushchuyu sem'yu, sluchaev zhestokogo obrashcheniya v sem'e, i t.p. Imenno eti voprosy delayut aktual'noy problemu otbora kandidatov v zameshchayushchie roditeli s pomoshch'yu psikhodiagnosticheskogo instrumentariya.