covered. Therefore the different locations are unlikely to have affected the data
findings. However, as care leavers and other young people in difficulty were
voluntary participants, it is acknowledged by the research team that the findings
may capture the views of more research-willing participants.
Demographic characteristics of the samples
Young women were over-represented among care leavers in this study which
possibly reflects their greater willingness to participate in research (Wigfall and
Cameron 2006). Over one-half of care leavers and young people in difficulty in
the sample were female (Table 1: 69% and 58% respectively). This is slightly
higher than for all care leavers (46%; DfES 2005). Over a quarter of care leavers
and young people in difficulty were from minority ethnic backgrounds (Table 1) -
higher than that found by Broad (13%; 2005) but similar to Wade et al. (25%;
2006). A quarter of care leavers and young people in difficulty had self-reported
physical or learning difficulties (Table 1) - slightly higher than other research
studies (Broad 2005; Wade et al. 2006). The study aimed to recruit care leavers
aged 17 - 24, and all those interviewed were within this age band. The average
age for the care leavers was 18 years (Table 1). This is also the most common
age for leaving care (DfES, 2005). The average age for the other young people in
difficulty in this study was 20 (Table 1). As time had elapsed between the point of
leaving care and being interviewed, some participants were older than 24 at the
point of interview (the oldest participant was 29 years). Young people who were
older or younger than 17-24 at the point of interview were excluded from the