IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jscscx/v13y2024i5p258-d1392402.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

“Vulnerability” and Its Unintended Consequences

Author

Listed:
  • Jeanette Skoglund

    (Regional Centre for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare (RKBU North), Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, N-9037 Tromsø, Norway)

  • Renee Thørnblad

    (Regional Centre for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare (RKBU North), Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, N-9037 Tromsø, Norway)

Abstract

“Vulnerability” is now a widely used term in different settings—from politics and academia to everyday life. In response, a growing body of research has emerged critiquing and challenging the use of the concept in the social sciences. In this paper, we explore the use of the term vulnerability in research on children in out-of-home care and discuss the possible negative consequences of this—for the people involved and for the knowledge produced. Showing some of the problems involved in classifying these children as “particularly vulnerable”, we argue that there is a need for more nuanced understandings of children growing up in out-of-home care.

Suggested Citation

  • Jeanette Skoglund & Renee Thørnblad, 2024. "“Vulnerability” and Its Unintended Consequences," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-10, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:13:y:2024:i:5:p:258-:d:1392402
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/13/5/258/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/13/5/258/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Healey, Cynthia V. & Fisher, Philip A., 2011. "Young children in foster care and the development of favorable outcomes," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(10), pages 1822-1830, October.
    2. Riessman, Catherine Kohler, 1990. "Strategic uses of narrative in the presentation of self and illness: A research note," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 30(11), pages 1195-1200, January.
    3. Gypen, Laura & Vanderfaeillie, Johan & De Maeyer, Skrallan & Belenger, Laurence & Van Holen, Frank, 2017. "Outcomes of children who grew up in foster care: Systematic-review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 74-83.
    4. Daining, Clara & DePanfilis, Diane, 2007. "Resilience of youth in transition from out-of-home care to adulthood," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(9), pages 1158-1178, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Blakeslee, Jennifer E. & Best, Jared I., 2019. "Understanding support network capacity during the transition from foster care: Youth-identified barriers, facilitators, and enhancement strategies," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 220-230.
    2. Molano, Nuria & León, Esperanza & Román, Maite & Jiménez-Morago, Jesús M. & Moreno, Carmen, 2021. "Building up secure relationships: Analysis of adult-child interactions in foster and adoptive families," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    3. Simmons-Horton, Sherri Y., 2017. "Providing age-appropriate activities for youth in foster care: Policy implementation process in three states," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 383-391.
    4. Harwick, Robin M. & Lindstrom, Lauren & Unruh, Deanne, 2017. "In their own words: Overcoming barriers during the transition to adulthood for youth with disabilities who experienced foster care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 338-346.
    5. Hébert, Sophie T. & Esposito, Tonino & Hélie, Sonia, 2018. "How short-term placements affect placement trajectories: A propensity-weighted analysis of re-entry into care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 117-124.
    6. Cheng, Zhiming & Guo, Liwen & Smyth, Russell & Tani, Massimiliano, 2022. "Childhood adversity and energy poverty," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    7. Singer, Erin Rebecca & Berzin, Stephanie Cosner & Hokanson, Kim, 2013. "Voices of former foster youth: Supportive relationships in the transition to adulthood," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 2110-2117.
    8. Fred Wulczyn & Xiaomeng Zhou & Jamie McClanahan & Scott Huhr & Kristen Hislop & Forrest Moore & Emily Rhodes, 2023. "Race, Poverty, and Foster Care Placement in the United States: Longitudinal and Cross-Sectional Perspectives," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(16), pages 1-19, August.
    9. Cassarino-Perez, Luciana & Crous, Gemma & Goemans, Anouk & Montserrat, Carme & Sarriera, Jorge Castellà, 2018. "From care to education and employment: A meta-analysis," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 407-416.
    10. Shim-Pelayo, Holly & De Pedro, Kris Tunac, 2018. "The role of school climate in rates of depression and suicidal ideation among school-attending foster youth in California public schools," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 149-155.
    11. Bengtsson, Mattias & Sjöblom, Yvonne & Öberg, Peter, 2020. "Transitional patterns when leaving care – Care leavers’ agency in a longitudinal perspective," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    12. Brännström, Lars & Karlsson, Henrik & Vinnerljung, Bo & Hjern, Anders, 2018. "Childhood risk factors for disability pension among adult former Swedish child welfare clients: Same or different as for majority population peers?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 94-102.
    13. Opsal, Tara & Eman, Rebecca, 2018. "Invisible vulnerability: Participant perceptions of a campus-based program for students without caregivers," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 617-627.
    14. Richardson, Jane C. & Ong, Bie Nio & Sim, Julius, 2006. "Is chronic widespread pain biographically disruptive?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(6), pages 1573-1585, September.
    15. Sulimani-Aidan, Yafit & Sivan, Yael & Davidson-Arad, Bilha, 2017. "Comparison of hope and the child-parent relationship of at-risk adolescents at home and in residential care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 125-132.
    16. Chulakarn, Narunest & Chaimongkol, Nujjaree, 2021. "Factors affecting resilience among early adolescents living in homes for children: A model testing," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    17. Malin, Maili & Miettinen, Janissa & Joubert, Natalie & Batbaatar, Enkhjargal & Anand, Janet, 2024. "Educational and employment outcomes for young adults with a history of immigration and out of home care in Finland," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    18. Sulimani-Aidan, Yafit, 2016. "In between formal and informal: Staff and youth relationships in care and after leaving care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 43-49.
    19. Federica Gullo & Laura García-Alba & Amaia Bravo & Jorge F. del Valle, 2021. "Crossing Countries and Crossing Ages: The Difficult Transition to Adulthood of Unaccompanied Migrant Care Leavers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(13), pages 1-14, June.
    20. Nesmith, Ande & Christophersen, Kaitlin, 2014. "Smoothing the transition to adulthood: Creating ongoing supportive relationships among foster youth," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 1-8.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:13:y:2024:i:5:p:258-:d:1392402. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.