Abstract
Previous research has demonstrated that former foster care youth are at risk for poor outcomes (e.g., more problem behaviors, more depression, lower self-esteem, and poor social relationships). It is not clear, however, whether these findings reflect preemancipation developmental deficits. This study used 163 preemancipation foster care youth and a matched sample of 163 comparison youth. Results showed that foster-care youth did not differ from the comparison sample on measures of well-being, including depressed mood, problem behavior, and self-esteem. Foster care youth reported higher levels of work orientation, but lower levels of academic achievement, aspirations, and expectations. In addition, compared to the matched sample, foster care youth perceived better social environments with respect to their important nonparental adults (VIPs) and peers, but poorer social environments relating to their parents. These differences in social environments may have offset each other and resulted in similar levels of psychological well-being for the two groups of youth. Regression analyses further showed that social environments were linked to selected adolescent outcomes, and nonparental VIPs were especially important for the foster care sample.
Highlights
The proportion of children in foster care in the U.S increased dramatically between 1980 and 2000 (U.S De-partment of Health and Human Services, 2004)
We address the following questions: 1. How do older foster-care youth compare to other youth on indicators of well-being and adjustment? We hypothesized that youth in the foster care system would have higher levels of depressed mood and problem behavior and lower levels of selfesteem, work orientation, and academic achievement
Are the associations between measures of wellbeing and adjustment and perceived social environments different for the two groups? We hypothesized that for foster care youth, the associations between parental variables and adolescent well-being would be weaker, and the associations between VIP and peer social support with well-being would be stronger, than those found in the comparison sample
Summary
The proportion of children in foster care in the U.S increased dramatically between 1980 and 2000 We hypothesized that youth in the foster care system would have higher levels of depressed mood and problem behavior and lower levels of selfesteem, work orientation, and academic achievement This hypothesis is based on the preponderance of previous literature showing that young adults who have emancipated from the foster care system are at risk for poorer well-being than their agemates. We hypothesized that for foster care youth, the associations between parental variables and adolescent well-being would be weaker, and the associations between VIP and peer social support with well-being would be stronger, than those found in the comparison sample This hypothesis is based on the view that contact between foster care youth and their biological parents is likely to be limited, increasing the potency of their peers and VIPs
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