자립준비청년의 자립 경험에 대한 국내 연구동향

Abstract

This study aims to examine trends in the Korean literature on the experiences of young adults who aged out of the child welfare system. We analyzed 86 studies including 56 peer-reviewed journal articles and 30 master's theses and dissertations published up to August 2024. The first related study appeared in 2002, and about 55% of the studies were published in the past five years. The term referring to the young adults varied in the literature, but the official term “youth preparing for independence” has been used since the policy announcement in 2021. Most studies focused on leaving out of foster care facilities, followed by foster care homes and group homes. In terms of research methods, more qualitative studies were published than quantitative studies.. In-depth interviews were the most commonly used method of data collection in qualitative research, and other methods such as focus group interviews and qualitative meta-analysis were also used. In quantitative research, both primary and secondary data were commonly used. We classified the topics of research into seven themes: independent living, emotions, relationships, support services, career paths, employment, and health. We suggest that future research focus on specific topics in more depth, converge research across academic disciplines, and attempt to diversify research methods.