Steadfast benevolence: A new framework for understanding important adult-youth relationships for adolescents in care

Abstract

Abstract Positive relationships with parents, caregivers and other adults are shown as critically important in supporting child and adolescent development. One consequence for youth of being involved in the child welfare system is the disruption of these relationships. Youth in care often lack relational permanence or meaningful bonds to sustain them in their transition to adulthood. Relationship-based interventions for youth in care, such as kinship care and mentoring, are poised to improve on youths’ relationships with adults, though many intervention programs for youth in care are skills-based. This study is based on interviews with 17 adolescents in care (88% African–American, 12% Latinx, 14–19 years old, from a large urban center) who were part of a program aimed at supporting high-school aged youth in care in their transition to adulthood. Through iterative coding of all interviews, adult-adolescent relationships facilitated by the program emerged as a strong area of focus within the data. Data reflecting this focus were further analyzed using an interpretivist thematic approach. Findings reveal that adolescents experienced the program-based relationships in family terms, which were further classified by attributes captured by the central conceptual framework reflected in the data, identified as steadfast benevolence. Findings point to steadfast benevolence as an umbrella for multiple positive and instrumental relational qualities. This article concludes with discussion of implications of this concept for practice and future research.