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Predictors of life satisfaction among care leavers: A mixed-method longitudinal study

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  • Refaeli, Tehila
  • Benbenishty, Rami
  • Zeira, Anat

Abstract

Most studies on young people aging-out of residential care (care leavers) have examined their situation in various post-care life domains (e.g. education, employment), but their subjective well-being, particularly life satisfaction, has been neglected. Here we focus on life satisfaction among care leavers four years after leaving care in Israel. Mixed-methods and longitudinal approaches were used to identify personal and social factors contributing to life satisfaction. The quantitative sample included 222 young people who were interviewed at three time points (T1-T3): on the verge of leaving care, one year later and four years after leaving care. Sixteen narrative interviews were conducted at T3. Both methods showed that personal resources, parental and peer support contributed to life satisfaction. The qualitative findings highlighted the complexity of care leavers' relationships with their birth parents. The interviews also demonstrated the potential contribution of other types of resources including siblings, romantic partners and stable formal support from practitioners in residential care and in the community. The findings suggest that to enhance care leavers' life satisfaction, practitioners' interventions should focus on empowering them to enhance their personal resources. In addition, the birth parents of some of the care-leavers had harmful relationships with their children and need various types of intervention to help them become a source of support for their child.

Suggested Citation

  • Refaeli, Tehila & Benbenishty, Rami & Zeira, Anat, 2019. "Predictors of life satisfaction among care leavers: A mixed-method longitudinal study," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 146-155.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:99:y:2019:i:c:p:146-155
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.01.044
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Amanda Hiles Howard & Getrude Dadirai Gwenzi & Lindsey Newsom & Belay T. Gebru & Nicole Gilbertson Wilke, 2023. "The Relationship between Sense of Belonging and Well-Being Outcomes in Emerging Adults with Care Experience," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(13), pages 1-12, July.
    3. Stubbs, Alix & Baidawi, Susan & Mendes, Philip, 2023. "Young people transitioning from out-of-home care: their experience of informal support. A scoping review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    4. Harder, Annemiek T. & Mann-Feder, Varda & Oterholm, Inger & Refaeli, Tehila, 2020. "Supporting transitions to adulthood for youth leaving care: Consensus based principles," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    5. Schwartz Tayri, Talia Meital & Spiro, Shimon E., 2023. "The contribution of replicated follow-up studies to improving transitional housing programs for youths aging out of care in Israel," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    6. Hagleitner, Wolfgang & Sting, Stephan & Maran, Thomas, 2022. "Socio-economic status and living situation of care leavers in Austria," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    7. Ángel De-Juanas & Francisco Javier García-Castilla & Diego Galán-Casado & Jorge Díaz-Esterri, 2020. "Time Management by Young People in Social Difficulties: Suggestions for Improving Their Life Trajectories," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-18, December.
    8. Bengtsson, Mattias & Sjöblom, Yvonne & Öberg, Peter, 2020. "Transitional patterns when leaving care – Care leavers’ agency in a longitudinal perspective," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    9. Itzhaki-Braun, Yael & Sulimani-Aidan, Yafit, 2022. "Determination of life satisfaction among young women care leavers from the Ultraorthodox Jewish community," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    10. Sulimani-Aidan, Yafit, 2020. "Challenges in the transition to adulthood of young-adult Arabs who graduated from residential facilities in Israel," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    11. Tehila Refaeli & Shlomit Weiss-Dagan & Drorit Levy & Haya Itzhaky, 2022. "“We Are Young, We Run Free”: Predicting Factors of Life Satisfaction among Young Backpackers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-15, January.
    12. Jan Alam, 2020. "7P’s of life-satisfaction: a social constructionist model for the life satisfaction of religious minority groups in Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Pakistan)," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 7(1), pages 1-8, December.

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