Identity construction in the transition to adulthood from

Identity construction in the transition to adulthood from different placements– a comparison of the narratives of young people from adoption, foster care and residential care Gillian Schofield Professor of Child and Family Social Work

Identity and family for children in care and adopted from care • Identity development in adolescence requires young people to make sense of the past and present before making an identity commitment in the transition to adulthood (Erikson 1968). • How do different but similarly complex and discontinuous family and relationship histories in adoption, foster care and residential care impact on identity development and a sense of family and belonging in late adolescence? • In particular, can residential care in the UK provide a sense of family that supports a young person’s transition to adulthood?

The CRCF / UEA research studies • Adoption: Longitudinal study of adoption and contact (1996 -2013), led by Dr Elsbeth Neil • Foster care: Prospective longitudinal, retrospective and cross-sectional studies (1997 -2012) • Residential care: a study of young people’s experience of transition to adulthood from residential care and the role of a transitions support service (2013 -15).

Adoption: narrative coherence in late adolescence • Narrative - making sense of their life, their adoption story (e. g. given away, taken away, entrusted, chosen? ) and who they are. • Adoption identity groups (Neil et al 2014) – Cohesive – Developing – Unexplored – Fragmented

Adoption: a coherent narrative in late adolescence “Because my mum was like 19, and I think my dad offered to marry her but she didn’t really like him that much, and she thought she’d give me a good home because she hadn’t finished college and things so she decided to do that”. Well I think some people get the wrong idea a bit. They think ‘oh she’s a really unhappy person, she hasn’t got a real mum or dad’ but it’s not like that at all. . . I can’t see them (adoptive parents) not being my mum and dad.

Adoption: sense of family in late adolescence • Family: young people experience a legal and caretaking adoptive family – and a genetically linked biological family • The adoptive family as the primary family identity • Role of the birth family - psychologically and through contact • The young person’s sense of family connections in both the adoptive and birth family is supported by communicative openness in the adoptive parents

Adoption: sense of family in late adolescence So I just think being adopted means to me that I have birth parents and I have relationships, which are my mum and my dad… I don’t find it strange. The only (adopted) people who find it strange is probably because they feel like they don’t know who they are so by finding out who their (birth) family is they’re going to help find out who they are. But I already know who I am.

Foster care: narrative coherence in late adolescence • Narrative : given away; taken away; losing and finding families • Managing histories / good and bad memories / multiple moves • Parallel relationships with foster and birth families • Practical and other challenges to continuity of foster care and birth family connections / identities in adult life.

Foster care: narrative coherence in late adolescence I wasn’t a good child because my birth family never showed me any love. . . I was always angry, all the time, and then (foster mother) she saw what was going on and she knew, so she gave me love and she gave me what every mother should give their daughter and I changed my ways and now I don’t do drugs or anything bad like that.

Foster care: sense of family in late adolescence • Family: corporate, caretaking and biological parents; care and family identities • Multiple families – including siblings, grandparents different roles, relationships and meanings • Lack of social script for foster families as ‘my real family’ and ‘foster placements’ as ‘my home’.

Foster care: sense of family in late adolescence I have got my foster carer, which I see as my mum, and she has got an older daughter, which I see as my sister. I usually see my (birth) granddad once a fortnight if I can. He’s 83. He used to be in the navy so that kept him fit and stuff. When I go down there we read the news, talk about stuff, maybe I’ll watch a bit of telly, he reads his book and makes me egg and chips - and then I go home.

Residential care: narrative coherence in late adolescence • Narrative : given away; taken away; last resort; last chance; stigma • Making sense of histories / memories / multiple moves • Emotions: sadness, guilt, anger, grief, envy, longing, love, gratitude • Complex relationship networks with an absence of social script

Residential care: narrative coherence in late adolescence • Young woman (21) had 15 ‘homes’ – birth and care • Key workers at final secure base residential home (from 16) and Aunty jointly celebrated her 18 th birthday. • Transitions worker at 16 ‘Let’s put university in your plan. ’ ‘I don’t want to go- but OK’. Now successfully completing her degree. When I first moved in I thought she ( worker) was paid to care - but if I stayed out all night she’d say ‘I was really worried about you’, like kind of how a parent would be. I have been brought up by so many people I have kind of created my own person

Residential care: sense of family in late adolescence • Family: Corporate parents; staff /key worker; biological parent /family; • Relationships with birth families over time • Importance of negative and positive relationships with peers / friends into adulthood • Limits to family-like closeness with staff may be set by young people, by staff and by the system • Continuity of residential and transitions staff connections in adult life.

Residential care: sense of family in late adolescence Instead of it being a house it became an actual home for us where we could actually feel like where we lived was a family They spoke to you like a family, ‘How are you today? ’. Like any mum and dad would do If it wasn’t for (the home) I wouldn’t have no flat, no job, I would have nothing. Before I left I said to them, you’re like my actual family, because I have got my actual family, but you are like a second family. You have helped me through life when it gets tough.

Messages for practice • Narrative coherence – constant evolution of the narrative for young people from all placements /families. The ‘why? ’ and ‘why me? ’ questions continue into adulthood • Sense of family – young people need to manage complex cognitive, social and emotional maps of ‘family’ • Secure base - successful young people will draw on many different people, including peers, to meet different needs, including clarifying the narrative. • Identity development – same task as all young people, but with extra challenges that require creativity, resilience, hopefulness and help.

Publications • • Neil, E. , Beek, M. and Ward, E. (2013) Contact after adoption: A follow up in late adolescence University of East Anglia: Centre for Research on Children and Families Neil, E. , Beek. M. and Ward, E. (2014) Contact after adoption: A longitudinal study of adopted young people and their adoptive parents and birth relatives London: BAAF Schofield, G. (2002) Part of the Family: Pathways through Foster Care London: BAAF Schofield, G. and Beek, M. (2009) Growing up in Foster Care: providing a secure base through adolescence Child and Family Social Work 14 (3) 255 -266 Schofield, G. , Beek, M. , and Ward, E. (2012) Part of the Family: Care planning for permanence in foster care Children and Youth Services Review 34, 244 -253 Schofield, G. , Biggart, L. , Dodsworth, J. , Scaife, V. , Ward, E. , Haynes, A. and Larsson, B. (2014) Looked after Children and offending: Reducing risk and promoting resilience London: BAAF Schofield, G. , Ward, E. and Larsson, B. (In preparation) Transitions from residential care: young people’s narratives (provisional title)