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Selected Works

Foster care

Selected Works

Developmental Psychology

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Full-Text Articles in Social Work

Aging Out Of Foster Care, Johanna K.P. Greeson, Allison E. Thompson Aug 2014

Aging Out Of Foster Care, Johanna K.P. Greeson, Allison E. Thompson

Johanna K.P. Greeson, PhD, MSS, MLSP

The transition from adolescence to adulthood is a significant developmental stage. When foster youth age out of the child welfare system, they are at risk of having to transition without family support. This chapter applies the life course perspective to describe the theoretical and contextual foundation that explains the hardships foster youth experience when emancipated from the US child welfare system. Next, the theoretical basis for natural mentoring among foster youth is explored using the resiliency perspective to frame the discussion. Then, current research on natural mentoring among foster youth is reviewed. Implications are drawn for US child welfare practice, …

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"What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger": Survivalist Self-Reliance As Resilience And Risk Among Young Adults Aging Out Of Foster Care, Julia Pryce Dec 2007

"What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger": Survivalist Self-Reliance As Resilience And Risk Among Young Adults Aging Out Of Foster Care, Julia Pryce

Julia Pryce

This interpretive study explores the experiences of 44 Midwestern young adults in the process of aging out of foster care. This paper highlights the degree to which they endorse self-reliance as they reflect on past experiences, offer advice to foster youth, and identify barriers to achieving their own life goals. Findings suggest that this identity must be understood in multiple contexts including societal expectations of independence and autonomy, foster-care and family of origin as developmental contexts, and current scholarship on youth aging out of care. We argue that vigilant self-reliance can be a source of resilience but also a potential …

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