Fostering Self-Determination: A Review and Research Agenda Advancing Self-Determination Theory as a Unifying Framework for Youth Well-Being in Foster Care Research

Young people in the United States foster care system face unique challenges related to their involvement in the system, often stemming from placement instability, disconnected policy and action, and an overburdened child welfare system. These experiences often result in limited opportunities for self-advocacy and change, difficulties forming quality relationships with peers and important adults, and barriers to academic and independent living success. There is a dire need for theoretically grounded, empirical work that can guide lawmakers, social workers, clinicians, foster/kinship parents, and youth in foster care themselves towards more positive, self-determined experiences within and beyond the system. This review advances Self-Determination Theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, Deci and Ryan, The Journal of Mind and Behavior 1:33–43, 1980) as an under-utilized yet particularly well-suited theoretical framework to guide research that will achieve these aims. After introducing the SDT framework and its clear relevance to critical issues in foster care research, this review articulates an SDT-guided research agenda centered on advancing youths’ well-being, specifically by promoting the achievement of SDT’s three core psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. This review also identifies future directions for research applying the SDT framework as a means to better understand and advance the “best interests” of young people in the foster care system.