354P
Voices of Former Foster Youth: Utilization of Supportive Relationships in the Transition to Adulthood
In the last decade, child welfare research, policies, and programs have turned their attention to the relational needs of youth emancipating from the foster care system. The percentage of youth who leave care through emancipation has grown steadily, from 8% in 2003 to 10% in 2012. While some of these youth do have significant relational networks, for many their lifetime experiences of loss and impermanence have decreased opportunities for them to form lasting and close relationships. Without strong familial and social support networks on which to rely, foster youth have a more difficult experience in the transition to adulthood. These challenges include homelessness, legal system involvement, and unplanned pregnancy. This study builds on the extant literature that documents social support among transitioning foster care youth; it goes beyond the sole identification of relational networks to explore how youth actually utilize their network members.
Methods:
We collected data from twenty in-person interviews with foster youth, ages 18-21. Participants were purposively sampled from two community programs serving transitioning foster care youth. The sample was predominantly female (70%) and those with college experience (63%). About half identified as African American (47%), 11% Caucasian, 16% Hispanic, and 26% multi-racial or other. All youth completed semi-structured, audiotaped interviews. Participants also worked with an interviewer to complete their network map, a tool that assists in identifying social network members. This aided in the subsequent discussion concerning the utilization of their relational network. Multiple researchers worked together to analyze the data using the consensual qualitative research (CQR) methodology. CQR builds on a grounded theory approach and examines multiple experiences, while looking for common realities across participants. All qualitative analysis was done using HyperResearch.
Results:
We found that while foster youth did identify a wide network of both formal and informal support during their transition to adulthood, there were “holes” in the form of support provided by informal network members, especially appraisal and instrumental support. We found differences in the utilization of social support based on gender, race, and educational attainment. Both females and those with college experience identified the highest percentage of their network members as providing emotional support, while males and those with less than or equal to a high school diploma identified more informational support. Caucasians and African Americans identified contrasting forms of support; Caucasians had more informational and instrumental support, while African Americans had more emotional and appraisal support. Hispanics identified about half of their network members as providing informational and instrumental support, and half emotional and appraisal support.
Implications:
While transitioning foster care youth are able to identify large relational networks, the actual provision and utilization of support from these network members may be contributing to poor outcomes in emerging adulthood. It is critical to consider all factors, along with demographic differences, when creating programs and policies for this population. Additionally, the network map proved to be a useful tool in assisting youth to identify layers of formal and informal supports within their social networks without pressure or judgment.