‘To talk or not to talk?’: Foster youth's experiences of sharing stories about their past and being in foster care

Sharing stories about the past and about being in care, can help adolescents placed in foster families to make meaning of their experiences and connect with their conversation partner. However, what obstacles and opportunities for sharing stories are experienced by foster youth has not been researched, while this holds important implications for research and practice. In an episodic interview, thirteen adolescents and young adults (16–23 years) talked about their experiences with sharing their memories about their past and being in foster care. Using a thematic analysis, two themes were constructed, each containing three sub-themes. The theme ‘When’ included references to the prerequisites for talking and considerations made by participants, and contained the sub-themes ‘How often do I talk’, ‘Conditions’ and ‘Ownership of my story’. The theme ‘Why’ included references to the rationales for sharing or not sharing memories, which contained the sub-themes ‘Protection’, ‘Understanding’ and ‘Processing the past’. The stories of the participants highlight both the opportunities and obstacles for talking. Foster parents and foster care workers should be aware of the needs foster youth have with regard to conversations about their experiences and should try to facilitate the meaning-making processes, although some foster youth prefer managing their memories in a more private way.