Which aspects of the stay in special residential homes for young people can contribute to resilience?

Every year, around 1 000 young persons are admitted to special residential homes operated by the Swedish National Board of Institutional Care (SiS). Knowledge about what happens to these young persons after they are discharged from a SiS home is limited and, to a large extent, outdated. Previous research shows that a significant majority relapse into substance abuse or criminal activities. However, most of these studies indicate that, as a whole, the group has a better situation after discharge compared to the time of admission.

Based on follow-ups ranging from one to five years, a general reduction can be observed in areas such as drug abuse, mental health issues, recorded crimes, and membership in criminal gangs. This means that some of the young persons, albeit a minority, appear to have fared relatively well after the conclusion of their care. Therefore, we pose the following question in the current project: What can explain why some youth do worse and others do better?

The aim of the project is to identify aspects of the stay in SiS homes that can contribute to improved socioeconomic and psychosocial outcomes after the young person has been discharged. Among other things, the researchers will investigate whether there are differences based on treatment program and support measures, and what role that experiences of, for example, collaboration, participation, and empowerment can play.

The project will be based on compilations of administrative data on all young persons that were placed in a SiS home between 2000 and 2021 (approximately 19 000 individuals).

• Ylva B Almquist, Principal Investigator
• Lisa Berg
• Lars Brännström