The Family and Social Networks of Recently Discharged Foster Youth

Many youth leave foster care with disrupted relationships with family and others in their social networks. Previous research has documented the severe adversity that former foster youth face in the transition to young adulthood. Some of these difficulties are at least partially related to a lack of social support that results from frayed relationships. The purpose of this research was to examine the role that social support plays in the transition to adulthood. It was hypothesized that foster youth with higher levels of social support would make more successful adaptations to early adulthood than youth without that support. Ninety-seven former foster youth were followed for 2 years. Youth reported low levels of “feeling close to parents,” but higher levels of “closeness” were expressed for other relatives. Findings were mixed. Organizational involvement and having many “close” friends were associated with better outcomes. On the other hand, family contact and family support was inversely associated with resiliency. The implications of these findings are discussed.