Findings from Interviews of Undergraduates with Foster Care Experience

This chapter presents the qualitative findings of this research based on descriptive statistics of the sample, which is provided based on information collected through the profile sheets. Findings are organized around the five qualitative research questions focused on turning points and additional emerging themes. Key life turning points that participants perceived as enabling them to enroll in college centered around changes in the home environment or involvement in school activities. Participants shared examples of how the turning point they identified resulted in changes in attachments to family, school, work, future work, and religion. The effect of the identified turning point on daily routines, the focus of question two, was only elaborated upon by a few participants. However, participants readily shared how the life event altered their self-image in positive ways. Five participants shared their experiences of juvenile justice involvement and ways it impacted them. Main themes emerging from participant interviews and expounded upon in the chapter are self-agency and resiliency.