"I'm Glad that I was Given a Second Chance to Live": The Buffering Impact of Turning Points in the Lives of Young People with Foster Care Experience.

Young people with a history of out-of-home care placement are at risk for a host of adverse outcomes, yet many demonstrate resilience by young adulthood. One mechanism by which well-being may be achieved is through a turning point (TP). This study had two key questions: (1) What do TPs look like for care-experienced young adults? (2) Does having a TP buffer the impact of early adversity on young adult well-being? Participants (=166) were interviewed in pre-adolescence and again in young adulthood. Baseline measures of adversity (ACEs) and life satisfaction were associated with young adult life satisfaction. In young adulthood, participants were asked an open-ended question about having a TP and four-fifths of participants stated that they had a TP. Although having a TP was unrelated to demographic factors, living situation histories, or type of maltreatment, a multiple regression predicting young adult life satisfaction found a significant interaction between having a TP and ACEs, over and above baseline control variables. In probing the interaction, there was no association between ACEs and life satisfaction for those with a TP; for those without a TP, however, there was a negative association between ACEs and life satisfaction. In conclusion, having a TP in adolescence seemed to buffer the impact of early adversity on later well-being among young adults with a history of out-of-home care. The nature of the TPs varied, but having TP seemed to lead to maturation and realizations which may serve as protective factors while navigating the transition to adulthood.