Why place matters in residential care: the mediating role of place attachment in the relation between adolescents’ rights and psychological well-being

Little evidence exists on the relationship between rights’ perceptions and well-being outcomes during the adolescence, and particularly in care, as well as on the mediating role of place attachment. Young people in residential care are psychologically and socially vulnerable, showing greater difficulties than their peers do in the family. Youth’s rights fulfilment in residential care may positively affect their psychological functioning together with positive attachments to this place. A sample of 365 adolescents in residential care settings (M = 14.71, SD = 1.81) completed a set of self-reported measures, specifically, the Rights perceptions scale, the Place attachment scale and Scales of psychological well-being. Results revealed significant mediating effects of place attachment (Global scale and subscales of Friends Bonding and Place Dependence) on the relationship between Participation and Protection rights in residential care and Psychological well-being (Positive Relations with others, Personal Growth and Self-Acceptance). The positive role of rights fulfilment in residential care, specifically participation opportunities, as well as the role of youth’s attachment to the care setting are discussed based on previous evidence and theoretical assumptions. A set of practical implications is described.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

“I wish someone would explain why I am in care”:the impact of children and young people’s lack of understanding of why they are in out-of-home care on their well-being and felt security.

Having a good understanding of one's origins and history is known to be significant in identity development. Drawing on a large‐scale online survey of looked after children's subjective well‐being, this paper demonstrates that a significant number of children and young people (age 4–18 years) did not fully understand the reasons for their entry to care. The paper explores the effect of this lack of knowledge on children's well‐being and on their feelings of being settled in their current placement. The study reiterates the need for professionals to be honest and open with children in out‐of‐home care and the need to specifically address, perhaps repeatedly, why a child is not living with their birth family

Looked after Children and Young People in England: Developing Measures of Subjective Well-Being

In England, about 69,000 children and young people are in care, primarily because of abuse and neglect. The impact of maltreatment can be long lasting and the quality of substitute care the child receives has a significant impact on children’s developmental recovery. Yet little is known about how looked after children and young people view their own well-being. Do they identify the same elements as important to their wellbeing as do children in general population and how might their well-being be measured? Here, we describe the development of an on-line survey to measure the subjective well-being of children in care. Eighteen focus groups were held involving 140 children and young people to understand their perceptions of what was important to their wellbeing. Although there were domains of well-being, such as the importance of relationships, that were held in common with children in the general population, looked after children identified other domains and their emphasis differed. Children emphasised the importance of relationships with foster carers, social workers and siblings and of being able to trust the adults in their lives. Unlike children in the general population, looked after children thought that having a coherent account of their histories and knowing the reason for being in care was crucial. The study demonstrated that children as young as 6 years old were able to provide meaningful responses about their well-being. The challenge for practice is to respond to those views and not leave children disillusioned that their views have made no difference