The main objective of the research is to explain which factors fostered a successful transition into adulthood for the aged out foster care youth. By the nature of the foster care service, after the age of 18 young adults can no longer legally remain under the official supervision. The transition of those who are not adopted, or have a legal guardian, but are aging out may be highly difficult because they are required to become fully responsible for their social and economic position in a society. While there are, as the literature analysis indicates, incidences of successful transitions into adulthood, still exists a prevailing number of the aged out youth who cope with homelessness, health care and educational insecurity, or even unemployment. The aging out of the adoptive youth is an underestimated issue since up to 40,000 of the adoptees are discharged annually.
The attachment and ecological theory perspectives were utilized as frameworks for understanding factors that have led to the successful transition into adulthood. The attachment theory represents a thematic umbrella for a number of sub-theories that deal with the psychological, social, and emotional link to establishment of interpersonal relationships between individuals. The attachment theory provides a significant ground for understanding how a child undergoes primary development that results in different outcomes after the broken attachment. The ecological perspective, on the other hand, invites to go beyond investigating the primary relationships with the caregiver and utilize the multi-systemic perspective on the attachments the respondents have had until the study.
Therefore, for the purpose of the study, the open-ended semi-structured straight interviews were conducted with the sample of young adults whose transitions into adulthood was successful. The qualitative methodology was utilized since the in-depth immersion into the respondents’ experience and reflections were needed in order to obtain the necessary information. Precisely, the respondents were asked to reflect on leaving the foster care service, developing new relationships and maintaining these social ties. Because factors leading to a successful transition are of interest, the respondents were also asked what was helpful during their transition out of foster care. The demographic data was collected by providing the respondents with short self-administered surveys prior to the interview.
As a result, it was found that the attachment was a major drive in securing the successful transition into adulthood of the foster youth. The respondents experienced new relationships after leaving the foster care institution, which, as they indicated, guided them through the life. It is important to note that some relationships might not have been lengthy or deep, yet the surveyed adults indicated that any type of relationship was of a help for them since they felt the drive to reconnect with someone. Additionally, the respondents pointed out that the factors like luck, opportunity, internal strength, and resources have helped the aged out youth to become successful. Overall, the availability of someone the respondents could have reached out had a primary impact on their well-being in the future.
References
- Lindsey, D., & Shlonsky, A. (2008). Child welfare research: Advances for practice and policy. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
- Padot, R. (2014). Politics of foster care administration in the United States. New York: Rutledge.
- Scannapieco, M., Connell-Carrick, K., & Painter, K. (2007). In Their Own Words: Challenges Facing Youth Aging Out of Foster Care. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal Child Adolesc Soc Work J, 24(5), 423-435. doi:10.1007/s10560-007-0093-x
- Smith, W. B. (2011). Youth leaving foster care: A developmental, relationship-based approach to practice. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
- Vaughn, M., Shook, J., & Mcmillen, J. (2008). Aging Out of Foster Care and Legal Involvement: Toward a Typology of Risk. Social Service Review, 82(3), 419-446. doi:10.1086/592535