Resilience and Academic Achievement Among College Students Who Are Foster Care Alumni

Overview: Foster youth are often marginalized in regard to education which impacts long-term success and employment rates. This study examined resilience characteristics related to academic goal achievement among youth who are foster care system alumni and are enrolled in a 4-year college. Results give insight into better targeting advocacy and resources.Proposal text:

Overview: This presentation will highlight resilience and social connectivity characteristics of foster youth alumni focused on successfully completing a 4-year college degree. Presenters will share study results as they explore a potential relationship between resilience and social connections that support youth in reaching academic goals. Recommendations for social work advocacy and resource allocation will be included with a focus on ways we can support foster care alumni in achieving higher education.

Background: Foster youth are often marginalized in regard to access to education, despite the fact that academic achievement plays a significant role in successful independence as young adults. The National Foster Youth Institute reports only about 50% of foster youth graduate high school in the United States and about 3% complete a 4-year college degree (https://nfyi.org/issues/higher-education). This further marginalizes foster care alumni since we know that completing secondary education and obtaining higher education correlates with long-term success and employment stability (U.S. Department of Education, 2021).

Another challenge for foster youth is social connectedness as they often face frequent moves, family instability and educational interruptions (Mihalec‐Adkins & Cooley, 2020). Resilience is the ability to persist beyond significant challenges in order to achieve goals. Resilience among foster youth in elementary and secondary school has been linked to social connections at home and in school (Kothari et al., 2021). Research among foster care alumni in 4-year college programs is limited (Tobolowsky et al., 2019) and yet understanding resilience and social connections related to academic achievement is important to increasing positive outcomes for this population.

Research Study Presentation: To address this gap in knowledge, an exploratory study is being conducted with foster youth who are undergraduates at a 4-year university to look at resilience characteristics and social connectedness as it relates to academic achievement. The authors will present results from the study’s anonymous online survey and share insights from foster youth who take part in several focus group discussions. Variables for resilience measures include persistence of interests, social connections, resource access, and future goal planning. Academic achievement is measured objectively as grade point average (dependent variable). Comparisons will be made between foster youth characteristics and non-foster youth college students in the study. A regression analysis will be used to explore the relationship between scores on the 8-item Grit-s (Duckworth & Quinn, 2009) and the 10-item Social Provisions Scale (Russell & Cutrona, 1984) with academic achievement (i.e., cumulative GPA in college major).

Presentation Learning Outcomes: After viewing the presentation, session attendees will be able to identify resilience characteristics and social supports that may support foster youth goal achievement, as well as variables that may not be as relevant. Social workers, college administrators, educators and the foster youth themselves will be better positioned to supply targeted, effective advocacy for foster youth in higher education based on recommendations from the presentation. Supporting academic achievement of foster youth will increase the likelihood of their succeeding as adults, maintaining stable employment, and positive social connections.