Care Leavers' Narrative in Israel: What Can Help Them Transition from the Moratorium of Military Service to Independent Living?

Background and Purpose:

Studies reveal that many care leavers are not successful in dealing with challenges of independent life after leaving care. In Israel, care leavers are expected to enlist to military service right after leaving care. Military service, although often challenging, is in many ways a moratorium on the quest for independence. Consequently, in the Israeli context, discharge from military service is a period of transition to independent living.

The current paper explores the transitions from military service to independent life among Israeli care leavers. The study highlights the role of multiple resources and previous experiences in understanding the experiences of this group in times of transition.  

Methods:

As part of a mixed-method study, sixteen narrative interviews were conducted with care leavers. Participants were selected using "purposeful sampling" based on the quantitative part. The sample included eight women and eight men, ages 22-24. Seven were born in Israel and the rest were immigrants. Narrative interviews were conducted with two main parts: life stories and questions of completion about periods of transitions. Interviews were recorded and fully transcribed. Two kinds of holistic analysis were used: content and structure (Libelich, Tuval-Mashiach & Zilber, 1988). Content analysis included mapping main themes expressed by interviewees and structural analyses (e.g., time spent on certain issues or people, pauses and breaks in narrative).

Finding

The analysis highlights the transition from military service as a meaningful and stressful period for care leavers. We identified two distinct groups among care leavers transitioning from the military service:
1. The "Struggling to Survive" group: Their narrative included descriptions of current difficulties (e.g., economic and emotional), lack of social support, and continuous efforts to function well. Many of their difficulties are associated with the stressful period of transition from military to civilian life. The presentation will describe the current situation of this group, characterized mainly by an immense lack of social support and, for some, by limited internal resources (e.g. low self-esteem).

2. The "Surviving through Struggle" group: Their narrative highlighted their positive situation today in various life domains. These achievements are results of constant efforts to overcome obstacles they face, including in their military service. This group is characterized mainly by strong internal resources including the ability to adapt to unwanted changes. All had multiple sources of support. They were able to have support due mainly to their ability to find and use all the resources available.

Conclusion and Implications:

The analysis highlighted that resilience among care leavers can be achieved by 'protective factors'. Namely, the combination of internal and external resources that are needed especially in periods of transition. The implications for social services is the necessity to strengthen the support network of adolescents in care and after care by exposing them to the formal and informal resources of support and connecting them to social organizations, while they are still in the moratorium of military service. It is also necessary to enhance their internal resources during and after care (e.g. by empowering youth to identify their strengths and interests).