A Growth Curve Analysis of Housing Quality among Transition-Aged Foster Youth

• Published in: Child & youth care forum Vol. 46; no. 1; pp. 91 - 117
• Main Authors: Tyrell, Fanita A., Yates, Tuppett M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.02.2017; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adjustment (to Environment); Adolescents; Adults; Age Differences; Aging; Analysis; At Risk Persons; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Change agents; Child Abuse; Child abuse & neglect; Child and School Psychology; Child Safety; Child Welfare; Childhood factors; Childrearing practices; Domestic violence; Emancipation; Emancipation of minors; Family Environment; Family Violence; Females; Foster Care; High School Graduates; Housing; Individual Characteristics; Leaving care; Life transitions; Longitudinal Studies; Maltreatment; Older people; Original Paper; Parents; Parents & parenting; Placement; Protective factors; Psychology; Quality of care; Risk factors; Sociodemographics; Vulnerability; Young Adults; Youth; New York; United States > US; California; Out-of-home placement; Housing quality; Child welfare; Foster youth; Transition-aged youth; Emancipation; Growth curve analysis
• ISSN: 1053-1890; 1573-3319
• DOI: 10.1007/s10566-016-9370-1

Background Procuring safe housing is a salient developmental task during emerging adulthood, one that is especially challenging for emancipated foster youth. Yet, little is known about factors that influence foster youths’ housing experiences. Objective This investigation documented changes in foster youth’s housing quality during the first 24 months following their emancipation. Analyses also evaluated associations between changes in housing quality and youth’s sociodemographic characteristics, childhood maltreatment experiences, and out-of-home placement history. Method Recently emancipated foster youth ( N  = 172; 66 % female; M age  = 19.63 years, 84.3 % non-White) who were participating in an ongoing longitudinal study of Adapting to Aging Out provided sociodemographic information, a history of their childhood maltreatment and out-of-home placement experiences, and a month-by-month summary of their housing since emancipation. Results Parenting youth and youth with a high school degree had higher housing quality 6 months post-emancipation. Females and youth who emancipated at older ages showed a linear increase in housing quality at 6 months post-emancipation. Childhood exposure to domestic violence, older age of entry into foster care, and placement with a relative just prior to emancipation were associated with declining housing quality over time. Conclusions These findings highlight the need to provide safe and stable housing opportunities for transition-aged foster youth, and elucidate risk and protective factors to guide applied efforts to support particularly vulnerable foster youth, including those who are male, have lower education attainment, have a history of childhood domestic violence exposure, entered foster care at older ages, and/or resided with a relative at the time of their emancipation.