What are the profiles of the adolescents in care who will be assisted shortly by the Support to Young People Under Guardianship or ex-Guardianship in Catalonia (Spain)?

Background and objective: The Support to Young People Under Guardianship or ex-Guardianship (ASJTET) is a service of the Child Protection System in Catalonia (Spain) which encourages 16 to 21 years old in their personal... [ view full abstract ]

Background and objective: The Support to Young People Under Guardianship or ex-Guardianship (ASJTET) is a service of the Child Protection System in Catalonia (Spain) which encourages 16 to 21 years old in their personal autonomy and social inclusion through various programs. In recent years, the number of young people in ASJTET has increased as well as their personal and social characteristics. The main objective of the study is to identify the different profiles of adolescents in care who will be assisted by ASJTET shortly with the aim of adapting their programs to the specificities of these boys and girls.

Method: A cross-sectional survey carried out in Catalonia (Spain) in 2015. The study population consisted of 15 to 17 year old adolescents who were in residential care or in kinship care. The study presented is the fourth of a series starting in 2004, which has included for the first time 15 to 17 years old in family kinship care and who have been followed-up by a specific support team. An ad-hoc structured online questionnaire was administered. The questionnaire was indirect: educators-tutors answered to each of the followed-up adolescents. The questionnaire included 42 questions grouped into 5 sections: sociodemographic characteristics, situation of the adolescent within the child protection system, academic training, health conditions, and estimated date for leaving care. A descriptive and bivariate analysis was carried out. The independent variables were: gender and type of placement (residential care and kinship care).

Results: The rate response was 40% (n=526) among adolescents in residential care and 62% (n=202) among kinship care. Of the 728 adolescents, 50.1% were boys and 80.0% were Spanish. Regarding age, 35.3% were 15 years old, 32.4% 16 years old and 32.3% 17 years old. As regards to type of placement, 72.2% lived in residential care and the rest in kindship care (27.8%). 29.5% of the adolescents in residential care had at least one health problem compared to 12.4% of those in kindship care and these differences are statistically significant. There are also significant differences by gender: 20.8% of girls had at least one health problems compared to 28.5% of boys. Only 8.8% of these adolescents were not currently studying, compared to 84.5% who wanted to continue studying next year. The 78.1% of adolescents who lived in a residential center had not had any contact with juvenile justice system as compared to 93% of adolescents in kinship care, and these differences are statistically significant. According to educators-tutors, the girls were more concerned about their future than boys (72.7% and 52.2% respectively) and the differences are statistically significant.

Conclusions: The results of this study provide important information about the profiles of adolescents who are in care in Catalonia. ASJTET policy-makers should bear in mind the specificities of these adolescents depending on their type of placement, differences by gender and nationality, as well as the characteristics of health and their expectations for the future when implementing programs designed to help them in the transition to adulthood, promote their emancipation and, ultimately, lead them to social inclusion.