Background: The growing body of research on the well-being of young adults with a history of residential care highlights the considerable difficulties and challenges this population faces (Collins, 2001; Courtney & Dworsky,... [ view full abstract ]
Background: The growing body of research on the well-being of young adults with a history of residential care highlights the considerable difficulties and challenges this population faces (Collins, 2001; Courtney & Dworsky, 2006; Courtney et al., 2011; Courtney & Heuring, 2005; Johnson-Reid et al., 2007; Reilly, 2003; Vinnerljung & Sallnäs, 2008).
However, research on the well-being of former foster youth in emerging adulthood tends to focus on easily measurable outcomes related to functional autonomy or tangible life skills (Goyette, 2006; Propp et al., 2003). Furthermore, placement in residential care is rarely conceptualized as an event or a caring context that can add to the difficulties and challenges these youth must overcome during this transition. Yet, as Samuels and Pryce (2008) point out: “[…] existing scholarship suggests that aging out of foster care is a challenging location from which to launch a successful and productive adulthood” (p. 1199). For example, a few studies observed fears of being judged and a tendency to devalue themselves among youth in relation to the former foster youth status, especially among young mothers (for a review, see Connolly et al., 2012). In order to better understand how adversities and resiliencies play out in emerging adulthood, some therefore suggested to focus on more relational and emotional factors such as a sense of belonging and sense of self (Samuels & Pryce, 2008; Stein, 2006).
Objectives: The general objective of the present study was to explore how young women with experiences in residential care talk about their lives and themselves in relation with placement history. In particular, the qualitative study aimed to better understand how young women make sense of their history in residential care and the importance given to such experiences among other significant life-course events.
Method: This qualitative study is part of a larger longitudinal cohort study (Lanctôt, 2011-2015). Based on the assumption that placement in residential care is a “biographical disruption” that requires meaning construction through storytelling (Riessman, 2008:10), we opted for a narrative approach. Findings are derived from interviews with 19 women aged 20-24. Based on McAdams’ Life Story Interview (1995, 2008), each participant was asked to decide which events, characters, challenges and accomplishments should be featured in their biographical movie in order for viewers to understand who they are today.
The sample was selected among the remaining participants (n=124) at Time 6 of Lanctôt’s cohort study. Three criteria were used: placement stability (versus instability), immigration generation, and age (participants had to be at least 20 years old).
Analysis was guided by a consensual analysis strategy (Hill et al., 2005; Hill, 2012). Three different researchers were involved in defining, adjusting and approving the final code book. Using QDA Miner, the first phase of open coding led to an inter-judge agreement well above 90%. We then proceeded to examine content within and across codes to derive themes, patterns and relationships between cases.
Results: In general, we observed various discursive signs of a social malaise related to placement experiences. Participants tended to limit the “weight” of placement experiences in life stories. Very few participants could unambiguously discuss either their role in their removal from home or the beneficial effects of placement in residential care on their lives or themselves. And while few participants mentioned perceived stigmatization directly, the majority held derogatory discourses about “girls in residential care” that were used to dissociate themselves from internalized stereotypes. In general, findings highlight the need for care-providers not to stigmatize, but also to balance the need for youth to take responsibility for their placement with giving them the space to morn “the failure” of families of origin.
Residential child care , Transition to adulthood from care
