The interplay between turning points and agency among young people with out-of-home care experience. A relational-narrative approach

Abstract

The concept of turning points has become central in research on young people with out-of-home care experience. Within these debates, agency plays a crucial role, particularly in understanding the conditions that enable positive change. However, previous research has often conceptualised agency primarily as an individual capacity, risking reproducing assumptions about autonomy and self-sufficiency that overlook relational interdependencies. Such framings implicitly reinforce dichotomies between what is considered normal and what is not, while obscuring the mutual influence between individuals and their social environments.

For this purpose, the paper draws on a secondary analysis of empirical data from a dissertation project in Austria, which investigated the significance of agency in the process of transitioning out of care. By linking turning points and agency, this paper contributes to a deeper understanding of biographical change as a socially embedded and narratively mediated process.

The findings have implications for research, social pedagogy, and policy, underscoring the importance of spaces that allow young people to shape and sustain positive self-narratives beyond care.