Youth „Aging out" of Foster Care in Poland

Research conducted in the US show that the youth leaving foster care experience many psychological and social problems associated with starting an independent life. The goal of the present study was to evaluate the... [ view full abstract ]

Research conducted in the US show that the youth leaving foster care experience many psychological and social problems associated with starting an independent life. The goal of the present study was to evaluate the psychosocial functioning of the youth who aged out of the foster care system in Poland. 134 randomly selected people who have left foster families (N=76) and orphanages (N=58) in the south of Poland within the previous four years participated in the study. “Aging out” survey, designed for the purposes of conducting the research among the group from the foster care system was used as a research tool. The tool was approved by the American Psychological Association Ethics Committee and adopted to the Polish reality by the group of researchers form the Opole University. The survey consists of the following research tools: Foster Care History, The Housing, Education and Income Timeline, The Victimization Scale, The Diagnostic Interview Schedule, The List of Criminal Activity, The Brief Symptom Inventory, and The Behavior Checklist. The results showed that the youth leaving foster care experienced a number of problems that make it difficult to start an independent life. Their problems include: mental disorder symptoms, abuse of psychoactive substances, antisocial behavior and victimization. Respondents from orphanages compared to respondents from foster families have higher intensity of mental disorder symptoms, such as: obsessive compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, paranoid ideation and psychoticism. The results are discussed in terms of available support programs for the youth leaving the foster care system.