IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i16p8919-d611302.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How Does the Family Influence the Process of Transition to Adulthood? A Comparative Study of Young People with and without Family Ties in Spain

Author

Listed:
  • Leticia Cano-López

    (Department of Psychology, Area of Social Work, University of Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain)

  • Yolanda María De la Fuente-Robles

    (Department of Psychology, Area of Social Work, University of Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain)

  • Virginia Fuentes

    (Department of Psychology, Area of Social Work, University of Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain)

  • María Aranda

    (Department of Psychology, Area of Social Psychology, University of Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain)

  • Macarena Espinilla-Estévez

    (Department of Computer Science, University of Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain)

Abstract

The transition to adulthood is a process that brings childhood to an end and turns the individual into a young adult. This process is characterised by the acquisition of new roles for young people, roles linked to the development of personal autonomy that culminate in their emotional and functional independence. The aim of this study was to ascertain how young people with family ties and youths without family support perceive and understand their emancipation process. The study also sought to identify the extent to which family provides support during the emancipation process. The research design was qualitative and used the focus group technique for data collection. The total sample consisted of 12 participants (seven males and five females) with an average age of 18. Five of them were minors in the custody of the State, and seven were young adults in a regular family environment. The information collected was analysed using Atlas.ti software. The results highlighted the existence of difficulties and barriers among young people (with and without family ties) related to psychological problems, difficulties in choosing training, finding a job and, in short, emancipation. However, young people with healthy social ties and family stability during their childhood had more support for an effective transition to independent adulthood compared to young people without family ties.

Suggested Citation

  • Leticia Cano-López & Yolanda María De la Fuente-Robles & Virginia Fuentes & María Aranda & Macarena Espinilla-Estévez, 2021. "How Does the Family Influence the Process of Transition to Adulthood? A Comparative Study of Young People with and without Family Ties in Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-11, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:16:p:8919-:d:611302
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/16/8919/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/16/8919/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jackson, Sonia & Cameron, Claire, 2012. "Leaving care: Looking ahead and aiming higher," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 1107-1114.
    2. Pau Baizan & Francesca Michielin & Francesco Billari, 2002. "Political Economy and Life Course Patterns," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 6(8), pages 191-240.
    3. Stein, Mike, 2006. "Young people aging out of care: The poverty of theory," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 422-434, April.
    4. 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).
    5. Sulimani-Aidan, Yafit, 2017. "Barriers and resources in transition to adulthood among at-risk young adults," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 147-152.
    6. Njeri Chege & Stephen Ucembe, 2020. "Kenya’s Over-Reliance on Institutionalization as a Child Care and Child Protection Model: A Root-Cause Approach," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-17, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Pinkney, Sharon & Walker, Gary, 2020. "‘It was me, but it was them that helped me’: Exploring the issues for care experienced young people within higher education," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    2. Hiles, Dominic & Moss, Duncan & Wright, John & Dallos, Rudi, 2013. "Young people's experience of social support during the process of leaving care: A review of the literature," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 2059-2071.
    3. Okland, Idun & Oterholm, Inger, 2022. "Strengthening supportive networks for care leavers: A scoping review of social support interventions in child welfare services," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    4. Refaeli, Tehila, 2017. "Narratives of care leavers: What promotes resilience in transitions to independent lives?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 1-9.
    5. Del Boca, Daniela & Locatelli, Marilena, 2006. "The Determinants of Motherhood and Work Status: A Survey," IZA Discussion Papers 2414, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Havlicek, Judy, 2011. "Lives in motion: A review of former foster youth in the context of their experiences in the child welfare system," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(7), pages 1090-1100, July.
    7. Gabriela Dima, 2011. "Coping with leaving public care and the challenges of transition to independent living," BlackSea Journal of Psychology, Ovidius University of Constanta, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, vol. 3(1), pages 75-91, May.
    8. Zinn, Andrew & Palmer, Ashley N. & Nam, Eunji, 2017. "Developmental heterogeneity of perceived social support among former foster youth," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 51-58.
    9. Hiles, Dominic & Moss, Duncan & Thorne, Lisa & Wright, John & Dallos, Rudi, 2014. "“So what am I?” — Multiple perspectives on young people's experience of leaving care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 1-15.
    10. van Breda, Adrian D. & Dickens, Lisa, 2017. "The contribution of resilience to one-year independent living outcomes of care-leavers in South Africa," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 264-273.
    11. Barn, Ravinder & Tan, Jo-Pei, 2015. "Foster youth and drug use: Exploring risk and protective factors," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 107-115.
    12. Monika Mynarska & Anna Matysiak & Anna Rybiñska & Valentina Tocchioni & Daniele Vignoli, 2013. "Diverse Paths into Childlessness over the Life Course," Working Papers 58, Institute of Statistics and Demography, Warsaw School of Economics.
    13. 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).
    14. Brännström, Lars & Karlsson, Henrik & Vinnerljung, Bo & Hjern, Anders, 2018. "Childhood risk factors for disability pension among adult former Swedish child welfare clients: Same or different as for majority population peers?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 94-102.
    15. Barn, Ravinder & Tan, Jo-Pei, 2012. "Foster youth and crime: Employing general strain theory to promote understanding," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 212-220.
    16. Shirley Ben-Shlomo & Noga Levin-Keini & Einat Ofir-Barash, 2022. "Life Satisfaction in Young Adults—The Moderating Role of Parental Support," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-14, September.
    17. Calheiros, Maria Manuela & Patrício, Joana Nunes & Graça, João, 2013. "Staff and youth views on autonomy and emancipation from residential care: A participatory research study," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 57-66.
    18. Melkman, Eran & Mor-Salwo, Yifat & Mangold, Katharina & Zeller, Maren & Benbenishty, Rami, 2015. "Care leavers as helpers: Motivations for and benefits of helping others," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 41-48.
    19. Kirkøen, Benedicte & Engell, Thomas & Follestad, Ingvild B. & Holen, Solveig & Hagen, Kristine Amlund, 2021. "Early academic struggles among children with home-based support from child welfare services," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    20. Heyman, Janna C. & White-Ryan, Linda & Kelly, Peggy & Farmer, G. Lawrence & Leaman, Tara Linh & Davis, Henry J., 2020. "Voices about foster care: The value of trust," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:16:p:8919-:d:611302. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.