In between formal and informal: Staff and youth relationships in care and after leaving care

Sulimani‐Aidan, Yafit

doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2016.05.025

Cited by 19 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The majority of youth in care have at least three distinct network domains including their biological families, their care settings, and peer networks, from which they draw health‐protective resources such as instrumental and emotional support. The role of these support figures in care is well documented, as they are dominant in the lives of the youth while they are in care, especially the professionals and their own friends (Jones, ; Sulimani‐Aidan, ; Sulimani‐Aidan, ). However, less is known about the identity of care leavers' supportive figures and those relationships during the transition to adulthood.…”

Section: The Importance Of Social Support Among Youth Leaving Carementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Earlier studies have noted that former social workers, counsellors, and foster parents have been described by care leavers as sources of support (Lemon, Hines, & Merdinger, 2005). A recent study in Israel found that almost two thirds of care leavers reported they had contacted their former staff in care for support for up to 6 years after leaving care (Sulimani-Aidan, 2016).…”

Section: Unstable Support In An Uncertain Periodmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Qualitative exploration of supporting figures in the lives of emerging adults who left care compared with their noncare‐leaving peers

Sulimani‐Aidan

2018

Child & Family Social Work

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Studies on youth leaving care have emphasized their limited social support and their need for continuing support after emancipation. However, less is known about the nature of their existing social networks after emancipation and their roles during their transition to adulthood compared with their noncare‐leaving peers. With this in mind, 32 young adults aged 18 to 25 participated in semi‐structured interviews regarding their current support figures in order to learn whether they were congruent with their needs after emancipation. Thematic analysis revealed four main features of the two groups' social networks: (a) stability versus uncertainty as to the lasting presence of the supportive figure, (b) reliance on parents as main supportive figures versus relying on different supportive figures, (c) confidence versus uncertainty in the supportive figures' ability to help, and (d) holistic versus fragmented support of the young adults' needs. The discussion addresses the unique characteristics of care leavers in emerging adulthood and the implications of their social networks' features for their adjustment after emancipation. One of the study's recommendations is to proactively connect them to new supportive figures such as professionals or mentors by offering them mentoring programs cognizant of the instrumental and developmental tasks of emerging adulthood.

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Section: The Importance Of Social Support Among Youth Leaving Carementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Unstable Support In An Uncertain Periodmentioning

confidence: 99%

Qualitative exploration of supporting figures in the lives of emerging adults who left care compared with their noncare‐leaving peers

Sulimani‐Aidan

2018

Child & Family Social Work

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“…This research study sought to increase our understanding of the resilience factors that contribute to care leavers' success during the emerging adulthood period. What emerged from the findings of the study was that the young adults' ability to form meaningful relationships with staff and their peers contributed significantly to their successful postcare adjustment, a factor that has also been established in other leaving care research (Collins, Spencer, & Ward, 2010;Schofield & Beek, 2009;Sulimani-Aidan, 2016). The staff served as substitute parents whose encouragement and support facilitated positive turning points for the young adults.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 53%

Stories of Care Leaving: The Experiences of a Group of Resilient Young Adults on Their Journey to Interdependent Living in Ghana

Frimpong‐Manso

2018

Emerging Adulthood

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Emerging adulthood is the developmental period from 18 to 25 years of age when young people explore the possibilities of life with support from their parents. However, young people with an out-of-home care background usually navigate this life stage with little or no support. As a result, many care leavers experience poor outcomes including homelessness and low educational achievements. These narratives fuel low expectations and a negative stereotype toward care leavers. This study offers an alternative perspective by sharing positive stories of care leavers. Specifically, it explores the factors that promote the successful transition to emerging adulthood for care leavers in Ghana. Four key themes emerged from the thematic analysis: networks of social support, personal capacities, preparation for adulthood, and positive relationships. These are the factors facilitating the care leavers’ successful transition into emerging adulthood. The study has offered recommendations for policy-making and practice including extending the statutory leaving care age.

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“…Thus, professionals training programs should help residential care staff recognize their biases, raise their awareness on youth’s normative development processes, and stimulate the development of adequate strategies for dealing with the challenges posed by this development phase. Residential youth care workers should be especially targeted in these interventions, since they are the adult figures who are in daily contact with the youth in care, and one of the main and closest support providers in their lives ( Bastiaanssen et al, 2014 ; Lanctôt et al, 2016 ; Sulimani-Aidan, 2016 ; Silva et al, 2021 ). Thus, residential care workers should focus more on the positive aspects and abilities of the young people in care and prepare them to cope with their perceived negative social images, by helping them make realistic appreciations of their strengths and weaknesses ( Harter, 2015 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Youth in Residential Care: A Cross-Sectional Mediation Analysis of Youth’s Perceptions of Their Social Images, Self-Representations, and Adjustment Outcomes

Calheiros

Silva

Patrício³

et al. 2021

Front. Psychol.

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Individuals’ perceptions of their social images [i.e., meta-representations (MR)] and perceived stereotyping threat create involuntary stress responses that may affect important outcomes, such as self-esteem, academic achievement, and mental health. This study aimed to (1) analyze the indirect associations between residential care youth’s MR and their psychological adjustment (i.e., externalizing and internalizing problems) through their self-representations (SR) and (2) test the moderating role of youth’s age and residential unit size in those associations. A sample of 926 youth aged between 12 and 25years old filled out self-report questionnaires regarding their representations about how people in general perceive them (i.e., MR) and their SR. Residential care professionals filled in the socio-demographic questionnaires and the Child Behavior Checklist. Data were analyzed through multiple mediation models and moderated mediation models. Results showed that (1) youth’s behavioral MR were indirectly associated with higher internalizing and externalizing behavior through higher levels of behavioral SR and (2) youth’s emotional MR were associated with higher internalizing problems through higher emotional SR, but also with lower internalizing problems through lower levels of behavioral SR. These results emphasize the importance of stimulating positive SR, by showing that they can be a protective factor for youth in residential care.

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In between formal and informal: Staff and youth relationships in care and after leaving care

Cited by 19 publications

References 23 publications

Qualitative exploration of supporting figures in the lives of emerging adults who left care compared with their noncare‐leaving peers

Qualitative exploration of supporting figures in the lives of emerging adults who left care compared with their noncare‐leaving peers

Stories of Care Leaving: The Experiences of a Group of Resilient Young Adults on Their Journey to Interdependent Living in Ghana

Youth in Residential Care: A Cross-Sectional Mediation Analysis of Youth’s Perceptions of Their Social Images, Self-Representations, and Adjustment Outcomes

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