A life course perspective on foster care: An examination of the impact on variations in levels of involvement in the foster care system on adult criminality and other indicators of adult well-being

This study examined the relationship between level of involvement in the foster care system and several adult indicators of well-being across the life course using original qualitative data and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. The qualitative data were collected from foster care experienced adults, foster parents, caseworkers and judges. The results from the qualitative data follow a pattern similar to that of prior research: foster care experienced adults have difficulty transitioning out of foster care to independence. They experienced difficulty with relationships, finances, housing and several other difficulties. The quantitative results were derived from bivariate analyses and multivariate analyses using ordinary least squares regression and logistic regression. The quantitative analyses tested the ability of social control theory and differential association theory to explain various indicators of adult well-being. Overall, both theories did partially explain why reunified and aged-out youths have less positive adult outcomes than the general population, though, differential association did explain the association more than social control theory. A major result of this study demonstrated, by using refined measures of foster care involvement, that those who were reunified with their families had more negative adult outcomes than those individuals who aged out of foster care. This study highlights the need to use mainstream sociological theory in research on foster care and the need to use more refined indicators of foster care involvement.