Female care leavers' journey to young adulthood from residential care in South Africa: Gender‐specific psychosocial processes of resilience

Abstract

The journey from care to young adulthood is often accompanied by many challenges, making care leavers one of society's most vulnerable populations. Although research on young people leaving residential care is gaining increased attention globally, there is limited research that focuses on female care leavers. This article describes the psychosocial resilience processes that facilitate successful transitioning of young women as they journey out of residential care towards young adulthood. The methodology employed is a modified replication of a previous study with young men, with the aim of determining whether women utilize resilience processes in the journey out of care that are different from men. A sample of nine female care leavers was purposively selected and interviewed. Data were analysed using grounded theory methods. The findings indicate that although similar resilience processes are found in both male and female care leavers, there are also resilience processes that are specific to women, notably embracing motherhood and taking on responsibilities. It is concluded that resilience-building programmes for young people leaving care should attend both to males and females together and also address issues specific to the care transition of women.

Affording managed opportunities for independence to build looked-after young people’s resilience: perceptions and experiences of care workers

“…Care-leaving research consistently points to poor outcomes for care-leavers (Hasson et al , 2021; Heerde et al , 2018; Dickens and Marx, 2018), which can, at least in part, be attributed to poor preparation (Bond, 2018b; Frimpong-Manso, 2012). While there is evidence to show that there are processes that can enhance the resilience of care-leavers during their journey to independent adulthood (Van Breda, 2015; Hlungwani and Breda, 2020), there remains a gap in research that looks at what is done to build the resilience of young people while they are still in care. This study reveals that despite the restrictive nature of the residential care setting and the gaps in preparation for leaving care, some CYCWs engage in efforts to work towards preparing young people for life after care by affording them MOI.…”

Social Support Networks for Youths Aging Out of Residential Care to Promote Positive Transition Outcomes – A Scoping Review

“…Although youths face different hurdles in their transition to adulthood, those in child and youth care centres (CYCCs) experience significant challenges resulting from their past experiences of harm, neglect, abuse and separation from parents (Dickens, 2018;Moodley et al, 2020;Van Breda, 2018), or the precipitating reasons for their referrals to CYCCs. After leaving care, they are at increased risk of low educational attainment, unemployment, early pregnancy, substance abuse, crime, imprisonment and homelessness (Fredericks, 2018;Hlungwani & Van Breda, 2020;Mamelani Projects, 2020;Obeng, 2020;Sekibo, 2020;Van Breda, 2018).…”

“…Bond and Van Breda (2018) suggest that a planned and properly managed preparation process for leaving care is necessary, thus incorporating a network of social support for youths ageing out of care. However, in the South African context there are no uniform guidelines on how this transition is to be implemented (Dickens, 2018;Hlungwani & Van Breda, 2020;Moodley et al, 2020;Van Breda, 2018).…”

“…According to Hlungwani and Van Breda (2020), child and youth care workers (CYCWs) in South Africa are not trained to facilitate programmes that meet the specific needs of youths transitioning out of residential care. There is a dearth of formal research on how best to support youths as they make this transition to life outside of residential care (Mamelani Projects, 2020;Van Breda, 2018).…”

“…There is a dearth of formal research on how best to support youths as they make this transition to life outside of residential care (Mamelani Projects, 2020;Van Breda, 2018). Some studies focus on youth experiences and the challenges they face once they exit residential care (Dickens, 2018;Hlungwani & Van Breda, 2020;Moodley et al, 2020;Van Breda, 2018). However, little is known about the development and use of social networks as youths aging out of residential state care move into adult roles in areas such as housing, employment and education.…”