Interview people from three different stages of life,
for example, 20-35, 35-60 and over 60 years of
age. Talk to them about:
a. Major transitions that have taken place in
their lives.
b. How they feel these transitions have affected
them?
Compare the events considered important in
different groups.
Answers
Answer:
Interview people from three different stages of life,
for example, 20-35, 35-60 and over 60 years of
age. Talk to them about:
a. Major transitions that have taken place in
their lives.
b. How they feel these transitions have affected
them?
Compare the events considered important in
different groups.
Explanation:
Interview people from three different stages of life,
for example, 20-35, 35-60 and over 60 years of
age. Talk to them about:
a. Major transitions that have taken place in
their lives.
b. How they feel these transitions have affected
them?
Compare the events considered important in
different groups.
Explanation:
The Social service review
Author Manuscript
HHS Public Access
Approaching the Transition to Adulthood: Distinctive Profiles of Adolescents Aging out of the Child Welfare System
Thomas E. Keller, Gretchen Ruth Cusick, and Mark E. Courtney
Additional article information
Abstract
The transition to adulthood is marked by new roles and responsibilities in such interrelated domains as education, employment, and family formation. This study investigates the capacity of adolescents on the verge of emancipation from the child welfare system to navigate this transition. To explore heterogeneity in adolescents’ preparation for independent living, person-oriented methods are applied to a large, representative sample of youth about to exit foster care. The analysis suggests four subpopulations defined by distinctive profiles on indicators reflecting multiple domains of life experience. Identifying the particular needs and challenges of subpopulations has implications for efforts to match adolescents aging out of the child welfare system with appropriate services.
During the transition from adolescence to adulthood, increasing maturity comes with expectations that one will take responsibility for oneself, make independent decisions, and become self-sufficient (Arnett 2000). In this period, young people contend with multiple opportunities and challenges that can have important implications over the life course. Individual developmental pathways are determined by decisions regarding education, employment, residential arrangements, marriage, and parenthood (Shanahan 2000; Cohen et al. 2003). Important changes in social roles and responsibilities can generate stress and test an individual’s capacity for adaptation, but these changes also present opportunities to overcome earlier difficulties and to begin on a new developmental trajectory (Maughan and Champion 1990; Masten et al. 2004).
For each generation, cultural expectations and social opportunity structures influence the timing and patterning of role entries and exits during the transition to adulthood (George 1993; Elder 1998). In recent years, early adulthood has been characterized as a period of volitional identity exploration that involves “trying out various life possibilities and gradually moving toward making enduring decisions” (Arnett 2000, 473). However, the life circumstances of many young people may severely limit their range of options or compel them, out of necessity, to adopt adult roles at an early age. Pathways to adulthood are strongly linked with social class, as well as with the resources and support of one’s family of origin (Cohen et al. 2003; Osgood et al. 2005). For example, poverty and family disruption may cause young people to move away from home and support themselves at an early age, perhaps interrupting their education and restricting their future options with respect to career and family formation (Goldscheider and Goldscheider 1998). From a developmental perspective, these early, off-time transitions, for which youth are not well prepared, have the potential to compound environmental adversity, threaten coping capacity, tax social supports, and compel individuals to enter into situations that may constrain their long-term prospects (Maughan and Champion 1990).
Young people forced from the child welfare system at age 18 are a population of special interest from a developmental perspective because they must negotiate the transition to adulthood suddenly and without guarantees of continuing support. Emancipation represents an abrupt discontinuity in caregiving. For most youth, maintaining connections to parent figures and being able to rely upon them in times of adversity contribute to positive adjustment throughout adolescence and the transition to adulthood (Steinberg 1990; Allen and Land 1999). Adolescent independence and self-reliance, as well as educational and occupational achievement, are associated with strong relationships with parents that feature both close emotional connection and support for autonomy (Bell et al. 1996; O’Connor et al. 1996). Furthermore, many young people who leave their parents during the transition to adulthood, particularly those who move out at an early age, may return at various times to live in the family home, using it as a safety net or a base for launching into new roles (White 1994). Likewise, caregiving adults can provide valuable guidance in navigating important decisions during the transition to adulthood (Csikszentmihalyi and Schneider 2000), and many individuals rely heavily on their families for material assistance in early adulthood (Schoeni and Ross 2005). In contrast to young people who can count on consistent family support, those who experience family instability in the form of separations from parents, residential moves, and family conflict are more likely to demonstrate difficulties in numerous developmental domains (Musick and Bumpass 1999; Keller et al. 2002; Adam 2004).