title: The truly disadvantaged? Midlife outcome dynamics of individuals with experiences of out-of-home care.
abstract: Little is known about developmental outcomes in midlife of persons who were placed in out-of-home care (OHC) in childhood. Utilizing longitudinal Swedish data from a cohort of more than 14,000 individuals who we can follow from birth (1953) to the age of 55 (2008), this study examines midlife trajectories of social, economic, and health-related disadvantages with a specific focus on the complexity, timing, and duration of disadvantage in individuals with and without childhood experience of OHC. Roughly half of the OHC alumni did not have disadvantaged outcomes in midlife. However, experience of OHC was associated with a two-fold risk for various forms of permanent disadvantage, net of confounding factors. Implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Work, Stockholm University, Sweden. Electronic address: lars.brannstrom@socarb.su.se.
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Brännström
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Work, Stockholm University, Sweden.
authors.forename: Hilma
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Forsman
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Work, Stockholm University, Sweden.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Vinnerljung
authors.affiliation: Centre for Health Equity Studies (CHESS), Stockholm University/Karolinska Institutet, Sweden.
authors.forename: Ylva B
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Almquist
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D054523:Adult Survivors of Child Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005581:Foster Home Care; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D019372:Orphanages; D012923:Social Class; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D014478:Unemployment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: Child welfare; Longitudinal; Midlife outcomes; Out-of-home care; Sequence analysis