Narrative development among emerging adults who aged out of foster care: Patterns and implications for adaptation

Abstract

Narratives about life experiences, especially those focused on difficult or traumatic events, influence how we relate and adapt to the past, present, and future. This longitudinal study drew on four waves of narrative data provided by 172 emerging adults who aged out of the foster care system collected at 1.5, 2.5, 5, and 5years following their exit from the foster care system. Growth curve analyses identified trajectories of three narrative process features (i.e., reflective functioning, integration, and complexity) and two narrative content features (i.e., negative and positive affect) as predicted by young adults’ maltreatment and child welfare experiences, and as related to their current and future multi-domain adjustment. Both narrative process and content features decreased across the first 5 years following aging out without significant interindividual differences. A more severe history of childhood emotional abuse (CEA) and more foster placement disruptions (PD) predicted narrative features at wave 1. Specifically, CEA predicted higher negative affect while PD predicted both lower integration and higher negative affect. Emerging adults’ narrative process features were related to their concurrent and future coping strategy use, whereas narrative content features were primarily related to their mental health functioning. The current findings suggest that young adults who have aged out of foster care experience narrative vulnerabilities across their transition to adulthood. These vulnerabilities may reflect emerging adults’ limited access to support amidst escalating stressors associated with aging out and transitioning to adulthood. Implications for child welfare and therapeutic practices to address these concerns are discussed.