2025

Kamula, Elli-Maria; Metsapelto, Riitta-Leena; Ruohotie-Lyhty, Maria; Poikkeus, Anna-Maija

Foster care children are at a higher risk of experiencing social or health problems in their lives (Sariaslan et al., 2022). Nevertheless, some youth show high adaptiveness when engaged in work, schooling and forming family relationships (Jones, 2011). The present study focuses on agency in the developmental paths of 18 young adults (14 females, four males, aged 18–32 years old) with family foster care backgrounds. Four main narratives emerged from analyses of individual interviews with these participants: (1) Relational agency; (2) Restricted agency; (3) Accommodated agency; and (4) Independent agency. The young people’s narratives involved affordances and constraints with respect to the manifestation and development of agency at different phases of their lives. This study is part of a larger project that examines factors contributing to the resilience of these young people; family foster care is the most common form of care in Finland, but there is scant literature highlighting the experiences of the young people affected. The findings can help both those working within care to understand the factors that facilitate resilience and the young people themselves to reflect on the potential to influence their lives. The findings can deepen our understanding of the support that fostered youth need to cope with their early experiences and to develop their own agency.