SPIRITUALITY AS A PROTECTIVE FACTOR
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A Multinational Study of Adults Separated from Parental Care as Children
Adults who were separated from parental care as children and resided in alternative care settings often experience difficulties throughout their lifespan. Thus, it is important to explore factors that lead to better outcomes. The current study sought to investigate the ways that adults with care experience believed that spirituality impacted their well-being in adulthood.
Based on a multinational individuals sample of experience with lived
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RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
SPIRITUAL COMMUNITY SUPPORT
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Participants felt the supportive presence of God, that they felt listened to by and connected with God, and that their spiritual relationship with God was transformative in their lives.
Spiritual communities were abundant sources of social and emotional support for adults with care experience, and this support had significant impacts on their lives. “My spiritual mom. She never gave up on me & was the only one who loved me unconditionally.”
“My personal relationship with God - He gave me love... I belong to Him.”
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SPIRITUALITY AS A COMPONENT OF IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT
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A BELIEF IN A HIGHER PURPOSE Respondents believed there was a specific, designed purpose for their lives. This belief served as a mitigating factor and source of future hopes.
Respondents spoke of “finding themselves” and defining their adult identities within the context of their spirituality, positively developing identities through a relationship with God.
“Life is so good and God has a plan and a purpose. I would go through it again 100 times if it meant leading someone to Christ.”
“To help them to find their identity in Christ, to know that they are not a mistake and that he loves them.” 6
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SPIRITUALITYMOTIVATED SERVANTHOOD Spirituality was a motivator to serve others or to serve God by serving others.
“To love others in a way that points them to Christ.”
ACCESS TO SPIRITUALITYBASED TEACHINGS AND TEACHERS Respondents often grew in their spirituality due to spiritual instruction or spiritual instructors and thought it was important to teach future generations about their spiritual beliefs. “My family and church community... taught me biblical wisdom and discernment. They taught me selfcontrol, gentleness, compassion, & strength.”
SPIRITUALITY AS A PROTECTIVE FACTOR
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A Multinational Study of Adults Separated from Parental Care as Children
Recommendations For Service Workers
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AFFIRM THE ROLE OF SPIRITUALITY Spirituality should not be ignored, but rather considered an important domain of development. Social workers should support and affirm the beliefs of children and youth who selfidentify as engaging in spiritual practices and create opportunities for youth in care to explore and be curious about spirituality.
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OFFER ACCESS TO SPIRITUALITY-RELATED PRACTICES Providing access to spirituality-related practices can assist individuals by improving mental health and increasing wellbeing. Routines of prayer, traditions around teaching and holidays, times of Sabbath rest, corporate worship, and reading scripture are all practices that may provide a sense of consistency and may serve as protective factors for children in alternative care.
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CONSIDER SPIRITUAL COMMUNITIES AS A SOURCE OF SUPPORT Involvement in a spiritual community can lead to a sense of belonging. Social workers should consider collaborating with local spiritual communities when providing services for children and youth separated from parental care. Attending gatherings such as faith services may serve as an opportunity to connect with the broader community outside of their alternative care program.
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PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE As youth in care have often experienced significant adversity leading to a need for services, it may seem counterintuitive to guide them to serve others. However, creating developmentally-appropriate volunteer opportunities to use the skills and abilities they have can place them in a role of agency rather than need.
The Bottom Line Listening to the voices of adults with care experience can help improve outcomes for youth separated from parental care. Participants in this study indicated that spirituality served as an important protective factor. By understanding the ways in which spirituality may have served as a protective factor for care-experienced adults, we can consider spirituality as an avenue for supporting development and improving outcomes for youth currently separated from parental care and adults with care experience.
Based on research by Megan Roberts, Tony Mitchell, Nicole Gilbertson Wilke, & Amanda Hiles Howard