"I'd Rather Rely on Myself": Understanding Risk and Resilience in College Students From Foster Care's Approach to Help-Seeking

• In Event: Developing a Sense of Belonging in Higher Education

Abstract

Students from foster care (SFC) represent one of the most vulnerable populations on a college campus. This presentation will review the results of a qualitative inquiry that examined 15 students' attitudes towards help-seeking, all of whom had experienced the foster care system and enrolled in college under a state tuition waiver plan. Three interrelated themes revealed how contexts for campus help-seeking form a stage for survival-driven adaptations that reveal SFC’s resiliency and risk. The presentation intended to promote discussion of how programs and practices could work within the psychological frame of SFC to improve college outcomes.

Authors

• Chloe Lancaster, University of South Florida
  Presenting Author

• Michelle W. Brasfield, University of Memphis
  Presenting Author