This mixed methods study focused on how parents and primary caregivers perceive their family quality of life (FQOL) while a family member with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) transitions from adolescence to adulthood. A modified version of the Family Quality of Life Survey-2006 Short Version: Main caregivers of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I. Brown et al., 2006) queried families’ perceptions and experience of their greatest strengths and supports, as well as their greatest needs and challenges in maintaining their family quality of life through this period of transition. In-depth individual interviews were conducted to further investigate the survey results and showed that participants struggled with a lack of support from others who did not share the experience of having an IDD family member while at the same time, they noted the high value they attribute to the support they receive from other families within the disability community who also have family members with IDD. Participants also noted the lack of support they receive from disability services and expressed the importance of finding opportunities for fulfilling their own needs, as well as the needs of other family members. These opportunities are reported as being essential to enhancing a variety of life domains, suggesting the need for more support in areas of family centred development. The implications drawn from these findings contribute to the discussion of changing how we view the domain support from others and how we can provide families with more opportunities to pursue areas of their own interest either individually or as a family unit in order to improve and enhance their FQOL as their family member with IDD transitions into adulthood. / Graduate / 2018-12-01

Master of Science / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Jared A. Durtschi / Many individuals in their teens and twenties believe achieving financial self-sufficiency is an important part of becoming an adult (Arnett, 2000); yet the research on this topic is very limited. The level of general responsibility a young adult obtains is related to their general level of self-confidence (e.g., Shim, Serido, Bosch & Tang, 2013). However, the relationship between financial responsibility and self-confidence is currently unknown. Additionally, the relationship between self-confidence and annual income among young adults is largely unknown. This is the first study to advance current knowledge with a large (N = 474) and longitudinal dataset of emerging adults. The goal of this study is to test the underlying process that may explain variation of annual income among emerging adults from the Transition to Adulthood Supplement, a subset of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). The study used a structural equation model (SEM) to test three waves of data across four years. Results from the SEM analysis demonstrated that higher levels of financial responsibility were associated with higher levels of self-confidence two years later. Additionally, the findings showed that higher levels of self-confidence were associated with higher levels of annual income after an additional two years. The results suggest the importance of building financial responsibility and self-confidence in emerging young adults.

This research utilized Indigenous methodologies rooted in oral traditions, storytelling practices, and the Medicine Wheel teachings to examine how individuals, families, communities, social workers, and organizations can assist Indigenous youth who are aging-out of foster care and are transitioning into adulthood. The methods of inquiry included five one-on-one Story-Sharing Sessions with Indigenous adults who previously aged-out of care in British Columbia, and two Talking Circles comprised of ten Community Helpers including Elders, Mentors, Educators, and Foster Parents; and fifteen Delegated Aboriginal Agency Social Workers who worked directly and/or indirectly with Indigenous youth in and from foster care. This research was person-centered, strengths-based, and solutions-focused, and re-framed ‘aging-out of care’ terminology as ‘a transition into adulthood’ to honour the sacred life-cycle teachings of the Medicine Wheel. The core aim of this research was to aid in the development of a highly adaptive practical guide and theoretical framework for supporting Indigenous youth in and from care. / Graduate

L'entrée dans la vie adulte est un processus plus ou moins étalé dans le temps, au cours duquel les jeunes connaissent différentes transitions : du départ de chez les parents à un logement indépendant, de la fin des études à l'insertion sur le marché du travail, du célibat à une vie en couple. Dans le contexte d'une société massivement scolarisée les transitions entre ces événements ont été modifiées. La majorité des étudiants acquiert ainsi leur autonomie résidentielle tout en étant pour une large partie d'entre eux encore dépendants financièrement de leurs parents. L'insertion sur le marché du travail de manière stable se fait à un âge plus tardif. Pour autant de plus en plus d'étudiants exercent une activité rémunérée en parallèle de leurs études. L'installation conjugale se décide au cours des études pour une minorité d'étudiants, mais pour la majorité d'entre eux ce moment est reporté après une insertion sur le marché du travail pérenne. Tout au long de ce travail ces différents événements ont été analysés pour mieux saisir ce processus complexe d'entrée dans la vie adulte. Les données sur lesquelles s'appuie cette thèse sont de type longitudinales rétrospectives, mêlant à la fois une approche quantitative (Panel DEP 1989) et une approche qualitative (53 entretiens). Ces données nous ont permis d'élaborer une typologie des modes d'entrée dans la vie adulte et de mettre en lumière les interactions entre les différentes sphères (études, emploi, décohabitation, mise en couple, naissance des enfants). / The transition into adulthood is a process spread in time. It starts with people moving from their parents' homes, graduating and integrating the labour market, and moving into a coupled life. In a society with rising educational achievements, the timing of these life transitions has changed. Most students move into independent housing arrangements during their studies even though the majority are still financially dependent on parents. Full integration into the labour market happens at a later stage and most students have temporary jobs while studying. Moreover, most students do not settle down into a coupled life until the end of their education with few of them getting into couples during this phase. Throughout this thesis, these different events are studied in order to explore the complex transmissions into adulthood. This work relies on retrospective longitudinal data combining both the quantitative DEP Panel of 1989 and additional qualitative data based on 53 interviews. These data were used to identify a typology of modes of transition into adulthood and to shed light on the interactions between the different spheres: Study, employment, cohabitation, and the birth of children.