High school graduation is a key developmental milestone. Most youth in foster care and young people generally want to attend college but adverse experiences put many at risk of either not completing high school or earning an alternative degree, which reduces the likelihood of college enrollment. Youth in foster care have disproportionately low graduation rates but can be academically resilient, and studies suggest that caseworkers play an important role in their academic trajectories. Less is known about how youth-caseworker relationships, as perceived by transition-age youth themselves, relates to high school completion. Multinomial logistic regression showed better youth-caseworker relationship quality was associated with a higher probability of high school graduation with a diploma for youth who reported clinical posttraumatic symptoms. Results suggest that youth’s subjective experience with caseworkers is important, and supportive caseworkers can mitigate the negative effects of trauma so that youth can reach their academic goals. Assessing and enhancing this core relationship warrants significant focus in future research, practice, and policy.

高中毕业是一个重要的发展里程碑。大多数寄养青年和年轻人通常都想上大学，但不利的经历使许多人面临无法完成高中学业或获得替代学位的风险，从而降低了上大学的可能性。寄养青年的毕业率极低，但在学业上具有弹性，研究表明个案工作者在他们的学业轨迹中发挥着重要作用。对于过渡年龄青年自己所认为的青年与个案工作者的关系与高中毕业有何关系，知之甚少。多项逻辑回归显示，较好的青年与个案工作者关系质量与报告有临床创伤后症状的青年高中毕业并获得文凭的可能性较高有关。结果表明，青少年与个案工作者的主观体验很重要，支持性个案工作者可以减轻创伤的负面影响，从而使青少年能够实现他们的学业目标。评估和加强这种核心关系需要在未来的研究、实践和政策中重点关注。