Adolescents in Out-of-Home Care: Symptom Burden, Identity Development & Relationship Formation

Method

Online survey and, where applicable, on-site data collection at the chair with adolescents aged 14 to 17 years who are growing up in different family contexts.

Third-Party Funding

German Association for Systemic Therapy, Counseling, and Family Therapy
(Deutsche Gesellschaft für Systemische Therapie, Beratung und Familientherapie)

Project Leads

Dr. Sandra Gabler
Julia Festini, M.Sc.
Prof. Dr. Gottfried Spangler

Background of the Research Project

Children and adolescents growing up in foster care are considered a vulnerable group exposed to numerous risk factors for the development of emotional and behavioural problems. In Germany, research to date has primarily focused on foster children prior to the transition into adulthood, even though nearly half of this population consists of adolescents or young adults. There is therefore a substantial research gap regarding the development of adolescents in foster care during the particularly sensitive phase of adolescence.

The aim of this project is to examine how adverse caregiving experiences in adolescents’ families of origin and during the process of out-of-home placement affect their symptom burden, identity development, and relationship formation. The planned study includes 60 adolescents aged 14 to 17 years: 30 adolescents living in foster families and 30 adolescents growing up with their biological parents. Participants will first complete an online questionnaire and will then attend an appointment at our chair, during which an EEG assessment and an interview focusing on counselling needs and the process of transitioning toward independence will be conducted.

The goals of the project are to investigate the effects of adverse caregiving experiences during adolescence, to assess counselling needs, and to derive implications for systemic practice in the process of becoming independent.