Young people who use drugs and the child welfare system : evidence to improve outcomes
department or school: Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Barker, Brittany
issued: 2019-04-30T17:09:40Z
issued: 2019
related degree: Doctor of Philosophy - PhD
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: Background: Youth exposed to the child welfare system (CWS) experience elevated rates of subsequent homelessness and other negative health-related outcomes. The objectives of this dissertation were to: systematically search and synthesize the literature on the relationship between the CWS and substance use outcomes; examine possible intergenerational impacts of the residential school system (RSS) on CWS-involvement among Indigenous youth; investigate the relationship between the CWS and injection initiation among street-involved youth; and evaluate if utilizing services while aging-out of care is associated with improved long-term health-related outcomes among a high-risk sample of younger people who use drugs (PWUD). Methods: Data were derived from two harmonized, community-recruited prospective cohorts of PWUD in Vancouver, Canada. Study participants were seen semi-annually to complete an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to investigate the intersections between social and structural forces associated with CWS-involvement and their influence on substance use and health-related outcomes. Results: Collectively, the findings of this dissertation indicate that the CWS and related exposures act as a risk environment for youth in care. Having a history of CWS-involvement was independently associated with initiating injection drug use before age 18 among street-involved youth. Among Indigenous PWUD, immediate familial RSS exposure (i.e., grandparent, parent) was common (66.3%) and independently associated with a higher likelihood for having been personally placed into the CWS. Further, when controlling for familial RSS exposure, a non-detectable difference in the odds of CWS-involvement between Indigenous and non-Indigenous PWUD was found. Among PWUD, approximately half of the sample utilized financial, independent living, and medical services while aging-out, but low utilization rates and high unmet demand were …
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/70006
note: YOUNG PEOPLE WHO USE DRUGS AND THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM: EVIDENCE TO IMPROVE OUTCOMES by Brittany Barker B.A., University of Victoria, 2008 M.P.P., Simon Fraser University, 2014 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Interdisciplinary Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) April 2019 © Brittany Barker, 2019 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the dissertation entitled: Young people who use drugs and the child welfare system: Evidence to improve outcomes submitted by Brittany Barker in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Studies Examining Committee: Dr. Jean Shoveller, School of Population and Public Health, UBC Supervisor Dr. Thomas Kerr, Faculty of Medicine, UBC Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Robert Woollard, Faculty of Medicine, UBC University Examiner Dr. Richard Young, Faculty of Education, UBC University Examiner Additional Supervisory Committee Members: Dr. Kora DeBeck, School of Public Policy, SFU Supervisory Committee Member Supervisory Committee Member iii Abstract Background: Youth exposed to the child welfare system (CWS) experience elevated rates of subsequent homelessness and other negative health-related outcomes. The objectives of this dissertation were to: systematically search and synthesize the literature on the relationship between the CWS and substance use outcomes; examine possible intergenerational impacts of the residential school system (RSS) on CWS-involvement among Indigenous youth; investigate the relationship between the CWS and injection initiation among street-involved youth; and evaluate if utilizing services while aging-out of care is associated with improved long-term health-related outcomes among a high-risk sample of younger people who…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
spatial: Downtown-Eastside (Vancouver, B.C.)
date issued: 2019-05
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0378523
language: eng
degree discipline: Interdisciplinary Studies
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/70006