emancipated foster youth report periods of homelessness and / or incarceration during the transition to adulthood

This investigation employed latent profile analysis to identify distinct patterns of multiform competence among 164 emancipated foster youth (Mage 1⁄4 19.67 years, SD 1⁄4 1.12; 64% female). Fit indices and conceptual interpretation converged on a four-profile solution. A subset of emancipated youth evidenced a maladaptive profile (16.5%; n 1⁄4 27), which was characterized by low educational competence, low occupational competence, low civic engagement, problematic interpersonal relationships, low self-esteem, and high depressive symptoms. However, the largest group of emancipated youth exhibited a resilient profile in which they were faring reasonably well in all domains despite marked adversity (47%; n 1⁄4 77). Two additional groups evidenced discordant adjustment patterns wherein they exhibited high levels of psychological competence despite behavioral difficulties (i.e., internally resilient; 30%; n 1⁄4 49) or significant emotional difficulties despite manifest competence (i.e., externally resilient; 6.5%; n 1⁄4 11). The obtained profiles were validated against independent measures of behavioral and socioemotional adjustment. Exploratory analyses examined etiological differences across profiles with respect to child welfare variables, such as age at entry into care, placement disruption, reason for placement, and severity of child maltreatment. The findings highlight the need for multidimensional models of risk and resilience and illustrate the importance of heretofore underappreciated heterogeneity in the adaptive outcomes of emancipated foster youth. Each year, more than half a million foster youth in the United States navigate a system of care that is ill-equipped to manage so many young lives (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2011). For youth who never attain a permanent adoptive or kin placement, the risks are especially pronounced. Youth who “age out” or “emancipate” from foster care at 18 years of age face the challenges of adulthood with few educational, material, and socioemotional resources (Casey Family Programs, 1999, 2003; Courtney, 2009). Cut from the moorings of state care, these youth are often brought down by the currents of adulthood. Young adulthood constitutes a period of major transition, challenge, and opportunity (Arnett, 2000, 2004; Schulenberg, Sameroff, & Cicchetti, 2004a). Yet former foster youth arrive at the shores of adulthood on waves of disrupted family backgrounds, disjointed foster care experiences, and marked vulnerabilities that undermine their adaptive negotiation of age-salient challenges (Havighurst, 1972; McCormick, Kuo, & Masten, 2011; Roisman, Masten, Coatsworth, & Tellegen, 2004). Joining the extensive literature documenting negative developmental outcomes among formerly fostered youth (Mendes & Moslehuddin, 2006; Pecora et al., 2006), emerging research points to especially pronounced vulnerabilities among the 5% to 10% of fostered youth who are not adopted or returned to kin, but instead emancipate from foster care at the age of majority with few resources despite disproportionate needs. Emancipated foster youth evidence significant difficulties negotiating the developmental challenges of young adulthood across varied domains, such as education, employment, community engagement, relational well-being, and psychological health. Fewer than 50% of youth aging out of care graduate from high school and, whereas 30% enroll in higher education, fewer than 5% successfully complete a 4-year degree (Burley & Halpern, 2001; Casey Family Programs, 2003; Zetlin & Weinberg, 2004). These rates are well below the 2010 national high school graduation and college attendance rates of 89.9% and 68.1%, respectively (Chapman, Laird, & KewalRamani, 2010; US Department of Education, 2011). Occupational outcomes are similarly grim, with twothirds of emancipated foster youth struggling to maintain employment in early adulthood (Blome, 1997; Casey Family Programs, 1999; McMillen & Tucker, 1999). Disconnected from their community and care networks, up to 50% of Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Tuppett M. Yates, Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521; Email: tuppett.yates@ucr.edu. Preparation of this work was supported by a grant from the John Randolph and Dora Haynes Foundation (to T.M.Y.). We gratefully acknowledge the collaboration of our organizational partners who assisted with participant recruitment and the support of our research team, particularly Jacqueline Coffey and Christopher Dietrich. We extend our deepest appreciation to the emancipated foster youth for their generosity and courage in sharing their stories with us. Development and Psychopathology 24 (2012), 475–492 # Cambridge University Press 2012 doi:10.1017/S0954579412000107