{"title":"Exploring the development of narrative identities in emerging adults who have been in foster care","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.childyouth.2024.107868","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Foster care involvement is often marked by being in a frequent state of disruption, resilience, disempowerment, and self-protection (e.g., Mitchell, 2016). Although over 400,000 children are in foster care at any given time in the U.S. (Children’s Bureau, 2021), foster youth are a relatively understudied population, especially regarding their own meaning-making and the development of their sense of self. The purpose of the present study was to understand the psychological experiences that shape the construction of self-narratives in young adults who have been in foster care. The sample included nine young adults (18–24 years old) who had been in foster care at some point in their childhood; all participants identified as women. The sample was diverse in terms of racial and ethnic identities. Participants completed brief surveys and an interview regarding their background, foster care experiences, and hopes for the future. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Study findings highlighted how foster youth navigated uncertainty, instability, and isolation in their interpersonal relationships, as well as ambiguity in understanding their past, present, and future. Findings further highlighted the process of managing dialectics throughout development, especially regarding adverse experiences, and how youth are shaped by their past to create their future. While these themes were not exhaustive of the complete process of self-narrative development, they did provide a starting point for understanding and empowering foster youth to own their stories. The primary implication of this study is that the unique developmental context of foster care shapes the self-narrative processes and meaning-making experiences of youth.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48428,"journal":{"name":"Children and Youth Services Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.4000,"publicationDate":"2024-08-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Children and Youth Services Review","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740924004407","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"FAMILY STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Foster care involvement is often marked by being in a frequent state of disruption, resilience, disempowerment, and self-protection (e.g., Mitchell, 2016). Although over 400,000 children are in foster care at any given time in the U.S. (Children’s Bureau, 2021), foster youth are a relatively understudied population, especially regarding their own meaning-making and the development of their sense of self. The purpose of the present study was to understand the psychological experiences that shape the construction of self-narratives in young adults who have been in foster care. The sample included nine young adults (18–24 years old) who had been in foster care at some point in their childhood; all participants identified as women. The sample was diverse in terms of racial and ethnic identities. Participants completed brief surveys and an interview regarding their background, foster care experiences, and hopes for the future. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Study findings highlighted how foster youth navigated uncertainty, instability, and isolation in their interpersonal relationships, as well as ambiguity in understanding their past, present, and future. Findings further highlighted the process of managing dialectics throughout development, especially regarding adverse experiences, and how youth are shaped by their past to create their future. While these themes were not exhaustive of the complete process of self-narrative development, they did provide a starting point for understanding and empowering foster youth to own their stories. The primary implication of this study is that the unique developmental context of foster care shapes the self-narrative processes and meaning-making experiences of youth.
期刊介绍:
Children and Youth Services Review is an interdisciplinary forum for critical scholarship regarding service programs for children and youth. The journal will publish full-length articles, current research and policy notes, and book reviews.