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No / Existing research on the impact of growing up in care focuses upon either the care experience itself or the period of transition from care to independence. Our knowledge of outcomes largely ceases when former residents of the care system reach their early twenties. There are strong social justice reasons for extending research into the older adult lives of such young people. We know a great deal about the multiple disadvantages that such individuals face as children. But research is largely silent about their subsequent adult lives. While we must be cautious in drawing causal links to the childhood care experience as the time period since life in care extends, we know that early experiences can affect care-leavers across their life coursejust as childhood experience affects all adults in a variety of ways. In this review, we highlight evidence drawn from research in Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, and the United States, with particular attention paid to the first two of those countries. We use a wide range of sources and identify areas for further consideration, including access to personal records, mental health, education, and parenting. By doing so, we seek to open up this area for further research with the hope that such research will lead to an increasing recognition of care-leavers' needs and thus to improvements in social policy and service provision.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Serious emotional disturbance, including disruptive disorders (i.e., attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, and conduct disorder), affects large numbers of adolescents, with costly and tragic consequences. Adolescents with disruptive disorders are likely to be arrested, drop out of school, and have poor treatment outcomes. There is an urgent need to identify strengths-based factors associated with improvement in adolescents’ behavioral and social functioning to help them achieve their full potential. The purpose of this study was to determine whether change in adolescent personal strengths and change in family functioning over 12 months predicted changes in behavioral and social functioning for adolescents with disruptive disorders who participated in a System of Care (SOC) program and if findings varied by race. De-identified data from 179 adolescents, aged 12-17 years, with disruptive disorders and their caregivers were included in this secondary analysis. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlations, t-tests, chi-square tests, and multivariate multiple regressions. Upon admission to the program, caregiver ratings indicated that African American adolescents had greater personal strengths (p = .001), fewer behavior problems (p < .001), and less functional impairment (p < .001) compared to their Caucasian counterparts. Girls had more behavior problems (p = .05) and fewer personal strengths than boys (p < .001). Increase in caregiver-rated adolescent personal strengths was significantly associated with improvement in caregiver-rated adolescent behavioral and social functioning (p < .001). Change in caregiver-rated family functioning was not significantly associated with change in caregiver-rated adolescent behavioral and social functioning (p = .171). The strength and direction of predictors did not vary by race. The adolescents in the study participated in a SOC program that emphasized their strengths versus, primarily, focusing on their deficits. Change in caregiver ratings of adolescent personal strengths was a significant predictor of change in adolescent behavioral and social functioning over a 12 months period. Findings provide evidence for psychiatric mental health professionals to focus on enhancing adolescent personal strengths to improve behavioral and social functioning in adolescents with disruptive disorders. Future research is needed to understand the impact of family variables on adolescents’ treatment outcomes.