Resilient Youth in the Foster Care System: Examining the Impact of Risk and Protective Factors on Adolescent Substance Use

abstract: Although child welfare services are anticipated, in part, to lessen the negative influence of maltreatment on childhood and adolescent development, there is evidence that involvement in the foster care system negatively affects adolescent substance use. Within the literature, limited empirical research has emerged in regard to this issue. The present study aims to fill this critical gap in the literature by examining the association between baseline biological, psychological, and social risk and protective factors on adolescent involvement in substance use, and frequency of substance use, over a period of 24 months for foster care involved youth. Furthermore, the present study compares substance use behaviors between youth with differing experiences of maltreatment subtypes and severity levels. Data come from VOYAGES, a longitudinal study of older adolescents in the custody of the Missouri Children’s Division for foster care services. The current analysis reports on those youth who completed both the baseline and the final interview (N=323). Key findings include significant associations between baseline peer substance use, lowered levels of school commitment, mentorship, and familial support with later adolescent substance use. Overall, the existence of numerous individual risk factors far outweighs the potential of protective factors buffering against subsequent substance use in the current study. The foster care system, although well-intentioned, potentially barricades individuals from successfully navigating through adolescence and early adulthood without engaging in risky behaviors such as substance use. Given the high prevalence of substance use among those placed in the care of the foster care system, prevention efforts for this population requires an improved understanding of psychosocial risk and protective factors.Dissertation/ThesisMasters Thesis Criminology and Criminal Justice 201