Exercising Agency for a Better Future: Adolescents in Korea's Kinship Care

ABSTRACT The literature on adolescents' perspectives on growing up in kinship care is limited. The study aims to explore the lived experiences of adolescents in grandparent kinship care by examining how they respond to adversity, build support and exercise agency. The study recruited 22 grandparent–adolescent pairs in a large Korean city. Separate interviews were conducted with each adolescent, aged 12–17, and their caregiver at the adolescent's home. The study uses interpretive thematic analysis to validate and triangulate themes and subthemes from the perspectives of adolescents and their caregivers. All adolescents experienced abandonment and had little to no contact with their parents, leading to feelings of disconnection, longing and stigma. For some, a grandparent's dedication and the presence of other relatives acting as substitutes helped lessen the negative effects of abandonment. Even amid adversity, they showed varying levels of agency, demonstrating awareness of their situations, intentionality in their actions and taking steps towards a better future. The findings emphasize the agency of vulnerable youth. Korea's underdeveloped foster care system and lack of coordinated services for grandparent kinship families leave them and their caregivers to navigate alone. Improved services for all grandparent kinship families, including guidance and meaningful support for adolescents at critical stages, could help strengthen their efforts to create a better future.