The Influence of Relational Support on the Parenting Attitudes of Youth Aging out of Foster Care

Background and Purpose: Youth aging out of the foster care system have been shown to experience a number of challenges associated with the transition to adulthood, including early unintended pregnancy and parenting. However, despite the presumed risks associated with being in foster care and having a history of child maltreatment, very little research has been conducted to examine the parenting attitudes among youth aging out. Social support and stable living arrangements among youth aging out (YAO) of foster care and of young parents has been shown to decrease risks related to the perpetration of child maltreatment and poor psychosocial outcomes with YAO. This study explored the parenting attitudes and parental risk of child maltreatment among youth aging out of foster care and examined the relationship between relational support and parenting.

Methods: One hundred and eighty-three ethnically diverse youth between the ages of 16 and 23 in a southwest state were recruited to complete a survey regarding their experiences of aging out of foster care. Linear regression analyses were conducted to assess the relationship between youths’ perceived social support from friends, family, and significant others and their parenting attitudes; and youths’ current living arrangements and their parenting attitudes across five constructs: parental expectations, parental empathic awareness of children’s needs, beliefs regarding the use of corporal punishment, parent-child roles, and children’s power and independence using the Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory (AAPI-2, Bavolek & Keene, 1999).

Results: Findings indicate that youth had low scores on two out of the five parenting constructs: parental empathic awareness of children’s needs and parent-child roles. Perceived social support from friends was significantly associated with higher scores regarding youths’ attitudes about the use of corporal punishment and children’s power and independence. Youth living with foster parents had significantly higher scores than youth living on their own across three out of the five parenting attitude constructs. Youth living with relatives had higher scores than youth living on their own on the empathic awareness of children’s needs parenting construct.

Conclusion and Implications: Findings suggest that there are certain aspects of parenting that youth aging out of foster care may struggle with currently or when they have children. Findings also suggest that youth may rely heavily on friends for social support and may develop more nurturing parenting attitudes if they reside with foster parents or relatives than when living on their own. Youth living in foster homes may observe and experience empathy, appropriate parent-child/family roles, and learn appropriate discipline. Policymakers should emphasize the importance of relationships, permanency, and social support of youth aging out. Practitioners should adopt a targeted parenting training program for youth who are aging out to support current and future parenting youth and their children. There should be increased efforts to recruit, engage, and support foster family placements and relative placements for all children in care, particularly youth.