Qualitative exploration of relationships with important non-parental adults in the lives of youth in foster care
Open accessAbstract
Foster youth are at risk of poor adult outcomes. Research on the role of mentoring relationships for this population suggests the value of strategies that increase their access to adult sources of support, both while in foster care and as they reach adulthood. We conducted semi-structured, individual qualitative interviews with 23 former foster youth ages 18-25 regarding their relationships with supportive non-parental adults. We sought to identify factors that influence the formation, quality, and duration of these relationships and to develop testable hypotheses for intervention strategies. Findings suggest several themes related to relationship formation with non-parental adults, including barriers (e.g., youth's fears of being hurt) and facilitators (e.g., patience from the adult). Distinct themes were also identified relating to the ongoing development and longevity of these relationships. Youth also described multiple types of support and positive contributions to their development. Proposed intervention strategies include systematic incorporation of important non-parental adults into transition planning, enhanced training and matching procedures within formal mentoring programs, assistance for youth to strengthen their interpersonal awareness and skills, and the targeting of specific periods of need when linking youth to sources of adult support. Recommended research includes the development, pilot-testing, and evaluation of proposed strategies.
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Non-parental adult support plays a critical role in improving foster youth psychosocial resilience and bridging the shift from foster care services to independence.
“Such cognitive schemas limit the degree to which these youth can benefit from non-parental adult support, which plays a critical role in improving foster youth psychosocial resilience and bridging the shift from foster care services to independence (Ahrens et al., 2011; Munson & McMillen, 2009; Thompson et al., 2016; Salazar et al., 2011).”
From Intervention development to improve foster youth mental health by targeting coping self-efficacy and help-seeking (2023) · cites this paper as Ahrens et al., 2011
The Results (section 3.3) report that former foster youth received emotional, practical, and other support from non-parental adults. The Discussion proposes involving these adults in planning for the transition out of care. But the Results explicitly say the study did not measure effects on adult functioning: improved emotional resilience was a hypothesis, not an established outcome. (LLM, conf=0.88)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredSuch cognitive schemas limit the degree to which these youth can benefit from non-parental adult support.
“Such cognitive schemas limit the degree to which these youth can benefit from non-parental adult support, which plays a critical role in improving foster youth psychosocial resilience and bridging the shift from foster care services to independence (Ahrens et al., 2011; Munson & McMillen, 2009; Thompson et al., 2016; Salazar et al., 2011).”
From Intervention development to improve foster youth mental health by targeting coping self-efficacy and help-seeking (2023) · cites this paper as Ahrens et al., 2011
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References 49 · Cited by 204
Research works printed but not linked: 29
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- Authors
- Ahrens, K. R., DuBois, D. L., Garrison, M., Spencer, R., Richardson, L. P., & Lozano, P.
- Affiliations
- University of Illinois Chicago (US)
- University of Washington (US)
- Corresponding author
- Ahrens, Kym R.
- Venue
- Children and Youth Services Review
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2011-06
- Volume
- 33
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 1012-1023
- ISSN
- 0190-7409 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3363001
- OpenAlex
- W2023835796
- Cited by
- 204
- References
- 49
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 32 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 25 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 20.54
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Children and Youth Services Review (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (2t32mh020021-26)
- National Institute of Mental Health (T-32MH020021, K23MH090898)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Child Welfare and Adoption
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mentoring and Academic Development
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Youth Development and Social Support
- Keywords
- foster youth, mentoring relationships, adult support, coming of age, former foster youth, relationship formation, barriers and facilitators, transition planning, social skills, intervention strategies
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