Future outlook in african american kinship care families.

Orientation to the future, in the social science literature, is linked to social adaption and adjustment. This study examines the future outlook in African American kinship care families. The focus of the study was restricted to adolescents in the kinship care population and examined both youth's and parent figure's outlook for the future. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97), the study describes the future orientation of African American youth who live with relative caregivers. It tests for differences in orientation to the future between kinship care parents and those with biological and other family types and tests the hypothesis of there being a significant difference in future orientation between youth and their relative acting as parent caregiver. Findings demonstrate significant variability in the future outlook of African American youth within kinship care families. The findings suggest that social workers and mental health practitioners who work with youth in goal setting behaviors should include the relative caregiver and the family in the counseling process. doi:10.1300/J045v22n03_02.