‘Can I come home?’ The experiences of young runaways contacting the Message Home helpline

This paper reports the findings of a 3‐month survey of young people calling the Message Home helpline. Message Home is a national freephone helpline available to people who have run away or left home which allows them to send a message to their family or carer, to seek confidential help and advice and, if necessary, to be helped to a place of safety. The paper explores the characteristics, circumstances and motivations of the young people contacting the helpline. It also considers who the young people contacted through the helpline and the kinds of messages that were relayed to parents, social services and others. This study differs from most preceding studies of runaways in recording the views of young people while they are missing. The immediacy palpable in their accounts highlights the distress and isolation experienced by many of these young people who have run away or been forced to leave home.     

‘If kids don't feel safe they don't do anything’: young people's views on seeking and receiving help from Children's Social Care Services in England

This paper presents findings from qualitative interviews with 24 young people (11–17 years) who have been referred to Children's Social Care Services in England. The paper explores young people's experiences of help seeking and their experiences of receiving help for maltreatment through statutory agencies. A central finding is the importance of relationships for young people when seeking and receiving help. It is through trusting relationships with professionals that young people are most likely to disclose maltreatment and/or engage with services. The paper concludes that young people's expectations and needs are not always met by the current safeguarding system and that the system needs to become more child‐centred if it is to address the concerns maltreated young people have consistently voiced through research.     

Enablers of help‐seeking for deaf and disabled children following abuse and barriers to protection: a qualitative study

Research internationally has highlighted the increased vulnerability of deaf or disabled children to abuse and the frequently inadequate response of services. However, first‐hand accounts of deaf or disabled children have rarely been sought. This paper reports selected findings from one of the first studies exploring experiences of deaf and disabled children regarding help‐seeking following maltreatment. Innovative and sensitive research methods were employed to support 10 deaf or disabled people (children and adults) to take part in guided conversations. The study identifies three enablers of help‐seeking of deaf or disabled children: the capacity of adults to detect abuse and respond to disclosures, supportive relationships or circumstances which facilitate disclosure and for Deaf children, access to registered interpreters. Barriers to protection related to these are also discussed. Recommendations directed at policy makers, practitioners and families include education and awareness raising amongst practitioners, children, parents and carers; addressing isolation of deaf and disabled children; providing comprehensive support services that address the needs of the child holistically; ensuring that the voice of the child is heard; routine access to registered interpreters for Deaf children within mainstream and specialist services and measures to address disablism at local and institutional levels.     

‘You don't want to be a check‐out chick all your life’: The out‐migration of young people from Australia's small rural towns

Globalisation and changes in agriculture have resulted in major social changes in inland Australia. Depopulation of the inland has led many to speculate on the future of rural towns and rural people. This paper will examine population drifts from country towns to cities and from the inland to the coastal regions and, in particular, the out‐migration of young people. In doing this, the paper focuses on several small towns in central New South Wales that have been the subject of intensive study during 2000 and 2001. Drawing on analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, in‐depth interviews and focus groups with key informants and surveys with young people and their parents in small rural communities the paper will report on the loss of young people and the greater loss of young women from these areas. It is argued that this outmigration of young people is linked to the need to seek higher education and also to the loss of full‐time jobs for young people. The loss of these jobs is the result of changes in agricultural production, labour market restructuring and a withdrawal of public and private sector services. It is further argued that current reliance by governments on market based and community self‐help solutions is not enough to provide a future for rural communities. Even if economic growth occurs this will not solve the problem of loss of young people, and the greater loss of young women, nor will it address the issue of access to education and training. Rather far greater attention to human capital (access to education, training and employment), institutional capital (government and non‐government services and infrastructure) and social capital (strong networks) is needed if Australia's small rural towns are to survive and flourish.     

Hard to reach and easy to ignore: the drinking careers of young people not in education,employment or training

Young people's drinking in the UK remains a matter of medical, social, media and political concern. The notion of transition and drinking styles in the move from childhood to adulthood and from education to employment has been central to understanding young people's drinking behaviour, but little is known about how the drinking patterns of those not in education or employment, both men and women, develop over time. This paper reports on research which aimed to examine the current drinking habits and drinking careers of young people not in education employment and training who are traditionally described as hard to reach. In‐depth qualitative interviews were undertaken with 23 young people: 15 women and 8 men aged between 14 and 23. The findings are presented with respect to three stages of drinking: starting, continuing or increasing, and decreasing or stopping. The conclusions indicate that for the majority of these young people, alcohol is a significant factor in their lives and that peers, gender, time and place combine to structure both their current alcohol use and drinking career. The paper argues that an understanding of young people's drinking career development and current alcohol use will help target effective social work and multi‐agency intervention.     

Adults who grew up in care: constructing the self and accessing care files

Past research on care leavers has, understandably, tended to focus on those who are in their mid‐ to late‐teens or early 20s. This reflects the profound impact of central and local government policy on those young people. It also reflects their prominence in contemporary analyses of most of the indicators of social exclusion among young people in the UK – unemployment, homelessness and lack of educational qualifications among them. However, some issues affecting adults who grew up in care apply across the life course. One such issue is the access that former care adults have to their child care files. Indeed, as we shall see, this issue has particular importance for many older adults (in their 30s and upwards). Policy and practice in this field has changed significantly during the past 20 years and there is a growing awareness of the needs of former care adults in this area. Access to such files can be a significant element in the process of seeking to address identity concerns centring around family and childhood experiences. This paper explores some of these identity concerns and analyses how access to care files both reflects such concerns and attempts to address them.     

Utilization of child helpline (CHL) among adolescents in Saudi Arabia: Results from a national survey

This study determines the rate of adolescents' interest in disclosing their exposure to abuse or neglect through a child helpline (CHL) and identifies the factors influencing disclosure through the line. A cross‐sectional, national survey utilizing ISPCAN Child Abuse Screening Tool‐Children's Home Version was conducted in secondary high schools in the main 5 provinces of Saudi Arabia. Boys and girls from public and private schools were selected to participate. Students (N = 16,010) aged 15–18 years were invited to complete the survey. The relationship between willingness to utilize CHL and demographic characteristics of the participants were evaluated using chi‐square test. Approximately, half (48%) of the participants reported their willingness to utilize a future CHL if they experienced any type of abuse in the past. Significant difference in age, gender, areas of residence, and abuse experience were found in terms of willingness to utilize CHL, and it was more likely among older age (17–18 years), boys, urban area, and abused participants (p < .01). Participants who reported experiencing multiple forms of abuse, neglect, and psychological abuse were 1.3, 1.9, and 1.2 times, respectively, more likely willing to utilize CHL. Educating adolescents about the utilization of CHL through awareness‐raising activities might reduce the prevalence of child abuse.     

Supporting unaccompanied asylum‐seeking young people: The experience of foster care

Although research on the experiences of unaccompanied asylum‐seeking young people in the UK has grown steadily in recent years, their experience of fostering and of the role played by foster carers in helping their adjustment have been neglected. This paper reports findings from the first UK study into these experiences, describing issues arising from initial assessment and preparation for fostering and the ways in which young people and foster carers adjusted to their lives together. It assesses the progress made by young people during placement, the strategies that appeared helpful to relationship building, and the extent to which young people had become integrated within the wider network of family relationships. Given that most young people first arrive as teenagers, it also considers the ways in which foster carers and social workers helped young people prepare for adult life in the context of uncertainties arising from the asylum process.     

The needs and strengths of unaccompanied asylum‐seeking children and young people in Scotland

Unaccompanied asylum‐seeking children seeking refuge in safer parts of the world have a wide range of needs. This paper discusses the main needs of unaccompanied minors drawing upon the views of service providers who work with or for unaccompanied asylum‐seeking children and young people in Scotland, as well as the perspectives of unaccompanied minors themselves. The complexity of the children's needs is explored with a framework considering their process of resettlement, looking at the present first, the future next and the past last. We also explored the strengths and resilience of the unaccompanied children consulted.     

Social Exclusion and Civil Law: Experience of Civil Justice Problems among Vulnerable Groups

Combating social exclusion has become a priority target for many governments and was a key factor in the establishment of the Legal Services Commission (LSC) and the Community Legal Service (CLS) in England and Wales in April 2000. This study aims to assess whether socially excluded groups within the general population are more likely to suffer justiciable problems (problems for which there is a potential legal remedy) and whether such groups differ in their problem resolution strategies and advice‐seeking behaviour. We draw upon a large‐scale survey of 5,611 people representative of the population of England and Wales, and a further survey of 197 people in temporary accommodation. Five vulnerable groups are extracted: survey respondents with a long‐term illness or disability, young and elderly respondents, low‐income respondents and those living in temporary accommodation. We identify how some of these vulnerable groups have a high likelihood of experiencing justiciable problems. We also examine advice‐seeking strategies among our vulnerable groups and, where contact was made, which advisers were typically contacted. The findings demonstrate the potentially crucial role of access to justice and advice and legal services in tackling social exclusion.     

Discourses of blame: deconstructing (hetero)sexuality, peer sexual violence and residential children's homes

Little research exists on sexuality and residential care, even less that position gender inequality as a central analytical component. This paper, based on a wider research project that focused on children’s and young people’s experiences of peer violence within residential care, seeks to help redress this disparity. The main aim of this paper is to explore how (hetero)sexuality, discourses of blame and male peer sexual violence are constructed and interrelated in residential child care. Young people’s and staff’s conceptualizations, evaluations and experiences are compared and contrasted to illuminate the range of discourses surrounding sexuality and sexual violence operating within residential settings. Findings relating to female culpability for male violence, normative male violence, female duplicity and challenges to traditional gender roles will be presented, and contextualized, in relation to previous studies. In addition, some broader implications of the research findings for residential practice are explored.     

Adult self-sufficiency and social adjustment in care leavers from children's homes: a long-term assessment

This paper presents a study carried out in Spain that followed up 260 young people, the majority of them adults, who had been in residential care for significant periods. The follow‐up takes place between 1 and 9 years after participants had left residential care, and assesses their level of social and work integration, as well as considering the incidence of problems related to marginalization and social exclusion. Furthermore, it analyses the reasons for the child being taken into care, the socio‐family context, length of stay, changes in placement and other features or incidents in relation to the residential care. The data show that close to 15% have serious problems (drug dependence, delinquency, etc.), 25% receive help from the social services and the rest manage independently to a greater or lesser extent. We discuss the significance of these data, especially the relationship between the final result and the initial and process variables.     

Young people's and carers' perspectives on the mental health needs of looked-after adolescents

While the mental health needs of looked‐after young people have been described in a number of clinical studies, the views of looked‐after adolescents themselves concerning their mental health needs have only rarely been reported. This study used focus groups to elicit the ideas and experiences of looked‐after young people in two local authorities in England. Front‐line carers in the region were also surveyed. Young people and carers were agreed in highlighting the damaging effects of the discontinuity and change experienced in the looked‐after system. Young people emphasized the importance of exercising choice and control when seeking and receiving support and identified the value of positive role models provided by ‘survivors’ of the care system. Carers reported high levels of risk behaviour, particularly self‐harm, among young people in children's homes. These differing perspectives need to be openly acknowledged and negotiated within care settings in order that relevant and accessible therapeutic and support services can be offered to looked‐after adolescents.     

From the state to the family or to the market? Consequences of reduced residential eldercare in Sweden

This article analyses the changing roles of the state, family and market in providing care for older people in Sweden, in relation to Scandinavian welfare ideals of universalism and de‐familisation. Since 2000 every fourth residential care bed has disappeared and the increase in homecare services has not compensated for the decline. Instead family care (defined here as help from adult children and other non‐cohabiting family or friends) has increased in all social groups: help by daughters mainly among older people with shorter education and help by sons among those highly educated. Use of privately purchased services has also increased but continues to play a marginal role. Family care remains more common among older people with less education whereas privately purchased services are more common among those with higher education. This dualisation of care challenges universalism, and working‐class daughters continue to be most affected by eldercare cutbacks.     

Relationship between childbirth and access to postsecondary education among young women ageing out of foster care

Early childbirth is common among young women ageing out of foster care and may impede their educational progress. However, few studies have explored access to postsecondary education among young mothers who have been in foster care. The present study used data from a large, national sample of young people in foster care (National Youth in Transition Database, NYTD) to examine the link between early childbirth and young women's access to postsecondary education between ages 19 and 21, controlling for an array of covariates. The study sample included 2,207 young women who had completed a high school diploma or GED by age 19 and who participated in three NYTD interviews at ages 17, 19 and 21. Childbirth between ages 19 and 21 was linked to decreased access to postsecondary education. However, no relationship was found between access to postsecondary education and childbirth by age 17 or childbirth between ages 17 and 19. Implications for policy, practice and research are discussed.     

Coping with peer victimization predicts peer outcomes across the transition to middle school

The present study examined strategies for coping with peer victimization as predictors of peer victimization experiences and broader peer relationship outcomes across the transition to middle school, and tested for possible gender differences in these associations. Participants included 123 early adolescents (M_age = 12.03 years at T1; 50% males; 58.5% European Americans, 35% African Americans, 6.5% of other races/ethnicities) who reported on strategies for coping with peer victimization at T1 (summer before the transition to middle school) as well as experiences of peer victimization and loneliness at T1 and T2 (spring of the first year of middle school). Teachers reported on peer victimization and peer competence at T1 and T2. Conflict resolution predicted higher teacher‐reported peer competence. In contrast, revenge‐seeking predicted higher self‐reported peer victimization (among girls but not boys) and loneliness, and support‐seeking predicted higher teacher‐reported peer victimization and lower teacher‐reported peer competence. In addition, cognitive distancing predicted lower teacher‐reported peer victimization and lower self‐reported loneliness among boys but not girls. Results are discussed with reference to the specific context of peer victimization and developmental period of early adolescence.     

Providing a secure base for LGBTQ young people in foster care: The role of foster carers

The experiences and needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) young people in care have been overlooked in England, in both policy and research. This paper reports on findings from the first study of LGBTQ young people in care in England and focuses on the nature of foster carers' experiences and perspectives on caring for LGBTQ young people. Qualitative interviews regarding the fostering role in caring for LGBTQ young people were conducted with a sample of foster carers (n = 26) and analysed thematically. Foster carers described the importance of offering LGBTQ young people not only the nurturing relationships that all children in care need but also availability, sensitivity and acceptance to help young people manage stigma and other challenges associated with minority sexual orientation and gender identity. The Secure Base caregiving model provided a framework for analysing the different dimensions of these relationships. Understanding caregiving roles and relationships for LGBTQ young people in care has important implications for recruiting, training, matching and supporting foster carers to care for LGBTQ young people effectively.     

The proof of the pudding: What difference does multi‐agency working make to families with disabled children with complex health care needs?

More than 20 years of research with disabled children, young people and their families has highlighted the need for the different professionals and services that support them to work more closely together. The British policy and legal framework for ‘joined up working’ has never been stronger. However, there has been an assumption that multi‐ or inter‐agency working will inevitably be a ‘good thing’ for families. This paper discusses findings from a 3‐year research project which looked at both the process and impact of multi‐agency working on families with a disabled child with complex health care needs. Interviews with 25 parents and 18 children and young people who used six developed, multi‐agency services were carried out. Findings suggested that the services had made a big difference to the health care needs of disabled children but were less able to meet the wider needs of the child and the family – particularly in relation to social and emotional needs. Multi‐agency working appeared to make some positive, but not significant, differences to the lives of families.     

Meaningful life and happiness: Perspective from Malaysian Youth

As suicide rates among young people are rising globally, a mixed-mode research was conducted to investigate the perception of young people in Malaysia of what is meant by “Meaningful Life”, and its association with “life is determined by myself”. Two hundred and seventy young people aged 15–24 were recruited in this cross sectional survey. A thematic qualitative approach was used to analyze open-ended questions and the findings reveal that happiness, relationships with family members and friends and having specific goals in life were the top three contributors to meaningfulness in young peoples’ lives. The Chi-square test for independence showed significant association between the coded variables and gender. Females perceived life to be meaningful when the people around them were happy and males perceived life to be meaningful when having good relationships with people around them, and both thought that having goals in life make it meaningful. The result also showed that there was a significant association for females between “life is determined by myself” and “meaningful life”. Present findings suggested that meaningfulness in life is not a pure individual affect or personal construct but a relational concept; it is related to the meaningful activities in which young people engaged. Future researcher may further explore the relationship between youth perceptions of meaningful life and autonomous environments, among the immediate ecological systems of family, peers, and school surroundings.