Instability at Transitions and Within Continuity: Navigating Maltreatment and Relational Impermanence in Out-of-Home Care

Abstract ​​​​The current qualitative study examined the narratives of 23 young adult survivors of childhood maltreatment who experienced out-of-home placement. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in which participants were asked a series of questions regarding their perceptions of relational permanency and its impact on their development and resilience as maltreatment survivors. Thematic analysis revealed three key themes centered around experiences of and strategies to cope with relational impermanence. The first two themes examine how relational instability manifested as both “instability at transitions” across care contexts and as “instability within continuity,” wherein precarious relationships emerged independently of placement changes. Together, these themes grounded the third theme, “adaptive reorientation to instability,” which captures participants’ resilient responses to relational impermanence through the cultivation of openness toward uncertainty and acceptance of change. These findings extend existing scholarship on relational permanency in out-of-home care by delineating distinct dimensions of relational instability that shape youths’ care experiences. We argue that, beyond addressing placement instability, policymakers and practitioners should attend to the balance between legal and relational permanency, strengthen child welfare workforce stability, and prioritize trauma-informed training for individuals supporting youth.