Beyond the Family Fostering Experience: A Qualitative Study on the Perceptions of the Self and One's Own History in Italian Care Leavers

Research on the subjective experience of transitioning to adulthood among young people aging out of foster care is scarce. Accordingly, this study investigated 26 Italian care leavers' self and personal history perceptions. Thematic analysis was conducted using in-depth interview data. Two major themes emerged-personal strengths that may lead to strong personal and relational adjustment, and difficulties related to a critical personal and relational functioning-suggesting that the family fostering experience may lead to different perceptions of self, others, and one's own history that influence the development of care leavers' identity while transitioning to adulthood, with noteworthy implications for practice.