Although former foster youth desire to pursue higher education, childhood trauma and educational instability, among other experiences, contribute to low college enrollment and completion rates. Through the lens of the ecological systems model, the researchers sought to understand the internal and external factors that former foster youth believe have contributed to or impeded their choices to attend and ability to navigate college. Twenty-three former foster youth currently enrolled in a college or university participated in semi-structured interviews that asked them to explain influences on their preparation for pursuing higher education, their decisions to attend college, and their ability to navigate college life successfully. Findings indicated that youth relied on caregivers, high school counselors, social workers, and child welfare staff who prepared them for college and helped make decisions to apply. They also reported internal motivations to attend college. In college, they relied on campus resources (e.g., extra-curricular activities, faculty) to navigate college life. They reported lingering family problems, lack of family support, and racial/ethnic stereotyping on campus that impacted their college experiences. Their stress was managed by seeking counseling and increasing their campus involvement. Implications suggest that supportive resources should be holistic and include pre- and post-college enrollment academic guidance, family and fictive kin support, positive peer relationships, child welfare agency support, and elimination of social stigmas that can undermine youths’ sense of self-efficacy and future. With increased awareness of needs, colleges or universities and professionals will be better equipped to implement targeted supports for this unique, non-traditional population.

尽管前寄养青年渴望接受高等教育，但童年的创伤和教育不稳定以及其他经历，导致大学入学率和毕业率较低。通过生态系统模型的视角，研究人员试图了解前寄养青年认为对他们的入学选择和上大学的能力有贡献或有碍的内在和外在因素。目前正在一所大学或大学就读的23名前寄养青年参加了半结构化访谈，要求他们解释其对升学的准备，入学的决定以及成功过大学生活的能力的影响。调查结果表明，年轻人依靠看护者，高中辅导员，社会工作者，以及为他们上大学做好准备并帮助做出申请决定的儿童福利人员。他们还报告了上大学的内部动机。在大学里，他们依靠校园资源（例如，课外活动，教师）来度过大学生活。他们报告了缠绵的家庭问题，缺乏家庭支持以及校园内种族/族裔定型观念影响了他们的大学经历。通过寻求咨询和增加校园参与度来管理他们的压力。这意味着支持性资源应该是整体的，包括大学入学前后的学术指导，家庭和虚拟亲属的支持，积极的同伴关系，儿童福利机构的支持以及消除会损害青年人自我效能感的社会污名。和未来。随着需求意识的增强，