Examining the Role of Psychological Disorders and Abuse Experiences on Longer-Term Offending Outcomes: A Comparison of Foster Care and Non-Foster Care Youth

• In Event: Posters II

Abstract

Although foster care placement is considered a risk factor for offending, little research on foster care extends beyond the period of adolescence and into emerging adulthood. Moreover, the circumstances surrounding foster care experiences that inflate risk for future offending have been neglected. This study utilized data from the Incarcerated Serious and Violent Young Offender Study, an ongoing longitudinal study of Canadian adolescent male and female offenders, to perform intergroup and intragroup comparisons of young offenders with and without a history of foster care placement. Specific attention was given to psychological disorders and abuse experiences, including whether these factors differed across the two types of offenders and whether these factors influenced offending outcomes measured prospectively during the period of emerging adulthood. Finally, regarding intragroup comparisons, analyses were performed to examine whether specific foster care experiences were informative of offending outcomes during emerging adulthood. Policy implications are discussed regarding the need for (a) more specified intervention strategies for youth in care and (b) improvements in the functioning of the foster care system.

Authors

• Jennifer Yang, Simon Fraser University

• Evan C. McCuish, Simon Fraser University

• Raymond Corrado, Simon Fraser University