EXPECTATIONS FOR THE FUTURE, LIFE SKILLS AND SELF-ESTEEM OF YOUTH LEAVING THE CHILD PROTECTION SYSTEM
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47743/asas-2022-2-698Abstract
The youth who leave the child protection system face multiple challenges, some of them due to insufficiently developed life skills, as well as some psychological peculiarities related to them. The particular context in which they grew up leaves its mark on the confidence they have in a good future. The present study aims to explore to what extent the future expectations of these young people are positive or negative, as well as the relationship of these expectations with the level of development of their life skills, with the young people's perception of self-efficacy, as well as with the level of their self-esteem, being used for the first time on the Romanian population, the Casey Life Skills Assessment scale, short form. The research had an exploratory, quantitative design, and involved the application of an online questionnaire to a number of 92 young people, aged 18-26, who benefit from a special child protection measure in Romania. The results of the study show that the optimistic perception of the future of young people who are about to leave the child protection system correlates positively with an increased level of self-esteem, perceived self-efficacy, as well as with the self-estimated level of development of life skills.
In conclusion, the preparation for independent life of the young people raised in the child protection system requires attention both for the formation of life skills and for the development of self-esteem and problem-solving skills, so that they can look with hope to their own future.
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