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Emerging Adulthood and Leaving Foster Care: Settings Associated with Mental Health

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American Journal of Community Psychology

Abstract

The present study examined the role of contextual support on mental health during the transition to adulthood within a vulnerable group, adolescents leaving foster care because of their age. Participants were 265 19- to 23-year-olds who retrospectively reported on 3 main contexts of emerging adulthood: housing security, educational achievement, and employment attainment in the first 2 years after leaving foster care. Mental health measured self-reported emotional distress, substance abuse, and deviancy at the time of interview. Growth Mixture Modeling empirically identified 3 latent trajectory classes. Stable-Engaged (41%) experienced secure housing and increasing connections to education and employment over time. Stable-Disengaged (30%) maintained housing but reported decreasing rates of education and small increases in employment. Instable-Disengaged (29%) experienced chronic housing instability, declined connection to education, and failed to attain employment. Stable-Engaged and Stable-Disengaged classes reported better mental health compared to the Instable-Disengaged class, indicating the importance of housing in transitioning to adulthood.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, DePaul University, 2219 North Kenmore Avenue, Room 420, Chicago, IL, 60614-3504, USA

    Patrick J. Fowler

  2. Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, 5057 Woodward, 7th Floor, Detroit, MI, 48202, USA

    Paul A. Toro

  3. School of Social Work, Wayne State University, 4756 Cass Avenue, Detroit, MI, 48202, USA

    Bart W. Miles

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  1. Patrick J. Fowler
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  2. Paul A. Toro
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Correspondence to Patrick J. Fowler.

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Fowler, P.J., Toro, P.A. & Miles, B.W. Emerging Adulthood and Leaving Foster Care: Settings Associated with Mental Health. Am J Community Psychol 47, 335–348 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-010-9401-2

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