Promoting agency in care leavers entails giving them the ability to make their own decisions, take control of their lives, and advocate for their own needs and desires. In the article “Agency, participation in decision making and wellbeing among care leavers in care system: A quantitative mediation study” (Children and Youth Services Review, 2024) Researchers Alessandro Pepe, Elisabetta Biffi, Chiara Carla Montà form Università di Milano-Bicocca and Caterina Arciprete and Mario Biggeri, from the Inclusive Development Unit, investigate the relationship between agency and well-being in a group of care leavers while considering the role of decision making as a possible mediating variable. The study is based on the data collected by the EU-funded project CarINg, which involved care leavers recruited from the alternative care services of the Municipality of Florence and Prato Area.
Background
Hope and agency are important aspects of adolescent well-being because it allows them to feel in control of their own lives and make decisions that are consistent with their values and goals. Conversely, the lack of agency, or control, over one’s own life, is a major issue for care leavers during their transition to adulthood. One of the ways to support care leavers is by providing them with opportunities to participate in decision-making processes that affect their lives.
When individuals are able to participate in decision making, they are more likely to feel a sense of agency and ownership over the outcomes of those decisions. This can lead to increased satisfaction and a sense of empowerment. While this is true for adolescents who are not in care systems, it is interesting to investigate how the two variables are related in a context in which adolescents, unlike their peers, see a contraction in their possibility of action.
Results
The findings show that participation in decision making fully mediated the positive association between dispositional agency and well-being. This implies that, in a context such as the care system, where adolescents’ agentic possibilities are limited, the role of participation in decision-making becomes critical and should thus be given special attention by professionals.
To learn more about results, read the full publication here.
