The adaptation to adulthood of Maltese youth post-out-of-home residential care

Abstract

Transitioning from residential care to independent living is one of the most difficult and challenging phases that care leavers have to go through in life. At the age of 18, young individuals are deemed legal adults, thus they have to move out of their placement. However, at this age it is difficult for young people to have their life figured out in terms of education, employment, affordable accommodation and being emotionally ready to live on their own. Leaving care so abruptly without recourse to external formal and informal support results in some care leavers turning to illicit and unadvisable means to survive such as drugs, prostitution, and early pregnancies. The aim of the study was to find out how care leavers in Malta are coping in terms of employment, education, housing and emotional support after transitioning from an institutional setting to independent living in order to conduct an evaluation of these Quality of Life indicators. The research method of choice was quantitative, applied by distributing an online questionnaire which was available through social media (Facebook). In total, 35 participants responded to the online questionnaire, thus the findings cannot be generalized to the care leavers’ demographic. The emergent findings indicate varied levels of adaptability, depending on circumstantial factors such as familial situation and formal and informal support received. Notwithstanding the unique circumstances, the findings highlight a unanimous agreement about the inherent difficulty of the transition process compounded by deficiencies in alternative care support for most youth. Recommendations for formal aftercare support policy changes and further research were given with the aim of improving care leaver’s wellbeing and positive outcomes in specific life domains.