The contribution of the social network of care leavers to a successful transition to adulthood: A realist review

Anna Raymaekers, An Nuytiens and Koen Hermans

Children and Youth Services Review, 2025, vol. 177, issue C

Abstract: Transitioning to adulthood is challenging. For young people raised in youth care, this is even more difficult as they often have a limited social network. Existing research indicates that having a stable social network is crucial for youth leaving care in achieving a successful transition into adulthood. However, it remains unclear how the involvement of social networks in transitional programmes for care leavers leads to successful outcomes. To address this ‘how’ question, we conducted a realist review through a systematic search in five databases to find peer-reviewed studies (PubMed, Web of Science, SAGE Journals, ERIC, and ProQuest), and in Google Scholar to add also grey literature. This search resulted in 14 relevant studies. We applied a realist framework, more specifically the CIMO-framework to identify relevant mechanisms, and verified our results with different stakeholders.

Keywords: Youth care; Transitional programmes; Interdependence; Natural mentoring; Critical realism; Social network (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:177:y:2025:i:c:s0190740925003792

DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108496

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