Foster Youth's Resilience and Wellbeing During Placement Changes
Miguel Nuñez1,2, Elizabeth Hamik3, Katie Nause3
1Department of Psychology, University of Cincinnati.
Summary
Resilience in youth in out-of-home care is complex. Factors like placement type and sadness impact resilience, which influences their wellbeing and health outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Child and Adolescent Psychology
- Social Work
- Public Health
Background:
- Youth in out-of-home care face significant health and wellbeing risks.
- Resilience is crucial for positive outcomes, yet its relationship with child welfare factors is understudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the connections between resilience, child welfare characteristics, and perceived wellbeing in youth aged 8-21 in out-of-home care.
- To understand how factors like time in care, placement type, and placement changes relate to resilience and wellbeing.
Main Methods:
- Recruited youth (8-21 years) from a foster care clinic.
- Assessed resilience in personal and caregiver domains.
- Analyzed associations between child welfare characteristics (time in care, placement type, changes, removal reason) and wellbeing indicators (global health, quality of life, mental health).
Main Results:
- Family-based placements and reports of sadness were linked to higher resilience in certain domains.
- No single resilience domain consistently correlated with all child welfare or wellbeing indicators.
- The interplay between resilience and wellbeing in this population is complex and multidimensional.
Conclusions:
- Supporting youth in out-of-home care early in placement is vital for fostering resilience.
- Interventions should consider the multidimensional nature of resilience and its impact on wellbeing.
- Further research is needed to fully understand and support resilient outcomes for these vulnerable youth.
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