Analysis of factors involved in the social inclusion process of young people fostered in residential care institutions

This study aims to analyse how the characteristics of Youth under custody in foster residences and the characteristics of foster residences affect the sociolaboral insertion after coming of age. This information is important for maximizing the possibilities of an autonomous, positive and satisfactory life after coming of age. The directors of 36 finalist residences that care for young people who will come of age in the same center were interviewed. Information about people who left the residences when they came of age over the past 2 to 5 years (n = 143) was gathered. Results show that after leaving the center, girls lived more with their partner, became pregnant at an early age, and did not work although they had received more job training than boys and did not seem to have more work instability. The young people who had been in more than one center had more problems with drugs, did not have a job, and have less acceptance of social rules, perseverance at work and emotional regulation than the other young people. The subgroups classified as "successful" scored better than other groups in autonomy; education, acceptance of the rules, perseverance at work, emotional regulation, ability to negotiate and be assertive. More "successful" young people came from centers in which the educators have less children. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.