What are friends for? The Perceptions of Young People in Care about Peer Relationships

The study explored the perceptions and role of peer relationships for a group of young people in care, and their beliefs regarding how social support contributes to resilience.

Consistently poor outcomes, both emotionally and educationally, for young people in care have made this group a national priority.

Research into resilience, risk factors and protective factors has proven attractive within psychological research as way to consider poor outcomes and alter developmental trajectories for vulnerable groups.

However, a number of methodological issues have been raised within resilience research, including difficulties with definitions, measurement and operationalisation.

The systematic literature review examined the risk and protective factors which had been specifically identified for young people in care within a specified framework of resilience.

The findings highlight the paucity of rigorous methodological quality within the research. Risk and protective factors were identified across behavioural, affective, educational and self-sufficiency outcomes for this population.

Social support is frequently cited as a protective factor within resilience research. However, surprisingly few studies have specifically investigated the nature of peer relationships as a protective factor for young people in care.

The empirical paper addresses the lack of research pertaining to the perceptions of young people in care with regards to friendship and resilience.

Eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with young people currently in care aged 12-16 using a social constructionist grounded theory approach.

The grounded theory model presents the hierarchical processes involved in 'maintaining and forming friendships' and in 'loss and changes in friendships.'

These were shown to interact based on the young person's experience of peer relationships and led to the young person valuing or devaluing the role of friendship.

Subsequently this relates to the perceived protective element of friendship, with those valuing friendship being more likely to recognise the protective worth afforded by peer relationships.