“I feel like my future is in my control”: Exploring young people’s early experiences of the basic income for care leavers in Wales pilot through the lens of self-determination theory

Roberts, Louise ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6154-3549, Bezeczky, Zoe, Holland, Sally ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7600-3855, Mathur, Vibhor and Westlake, David ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7507-3413 2026. “I feel like my future is in my control”: Exploring young people’s early experiences of the basic income for care leavers in Wales pilot through the lens of self-determination theory. Children and Youth Services Review 188 , 109111. 10.1016/j.childyouth.2026.109111

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Abstract

This paper explores early experiences of young people enrolled on the basic income for care leavers in Wales pilot through self-determination theory. Forty-four young people took part in qualitative interviews in the first six months of receiving the income as part of a wider government-commissioned evaluation. Their reported experiences were analysed under the overarching aspects of self-determination theory: autonomy, competence and relatedness, with autonomy emerging as the strongest theme. The young people contrast their increased sense of autonomy to usual barriers faced by care-leavers, suggesting they felt their circumstances as a group had been recognised by the state with the income symbolising equality-based respect, thus putting them on a more even playing field with their peers. Despite these positives, it is noted that the sample may not be representative of the whole cohort and experiences may change over the course of the pilot and after the income stops.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education) Research Institutes & Centres > Children’s Social Care Research and Development Centre (CASCADE)
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	0190-7409
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	29 June 2026
Date of Acceptance:	10 June 2026
Last Modified:	04 Aug 2026 22:09
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/187795

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