From Adversity to Homelessness: Unraveling the Impact of Pre-Foster Care Experiences

Despite considerable assistance aimed at preparing youth in foster care to transition into adulthood, former foster care children are at an elevated risk of homelessness.This study evaluates the relationship between traumas experienced prior to entering the foster care system and homelessness in adulthood.Previous studies have established a significant correlation between childhood involvement in the foster care system and adverse life outcomes in later stages of life.However, since many children are placed in foster care due to traumatic circumstances, it remains unclear whether the pre-existing traumas that led to their placement in foster care or the traumas they experienced while in foster care make a greater contribution to the reported adverse life outcomes in adulthood.I hypothesized that pre-existing trauma plays a larger role in adult homelessness than trauma experienced in the foster care system.Adults who spent time in foster care were surveyed regarding traumas and stressors they experienced prior to being placed in the foster care system.Four out of ten pre-exposure factors were found to significantly increase the likelihood of being homeless in adulthood: abuse, parental incarceration, single-parent households, and parental divorce.This finding provides a potential roadmap for targeted mental health interventions while children are in the foster care system to address previous trauma.Such interventions may reduce the incidence of homelessness in this vulnerable population.