Social Networks and Social Support in the Transition to Adulthood

Abstract

For some youth in care, leaving a foster home definitively also implies leaving the only family and home they have ever known. Youth is thus a particularly critical moment in identity construction because it is central to the interplay between family heritage and social capital, all of which is acquired since childhood. Research has focused on competencies, resources, and individual characteristics of youth aging out of care, yet social networks and supports have received little attention. This chapter describes the networks of youth leaving care in the transition to adulthood and analyzes the links between the network characteristics and the socio-professional integration process of these young adults.