The Transition to Adulthood from Care

Abstract

This chapter reports on a literature review that was conducted spanning the past 2 years to provide an overview of existing research and to identify future research needs in the field. Increased awareness of the changes related to traditional transition markers in emerging adulthood and of the poor outcomes and vulnerability of care leavers has led to a growing interest in this population. After a systematic process, 64 articles were included in the content analysis. This study identified four major topics that characterize recent research in this area: (1) policy, program, and services; (2) transition trajectories and markers; (3) social network and social support; and (4) subpopulations.