Mental Health Problems in Childhood

“About two-thirds of children admitted to public care have experienced abuse and neglect, and many have potentially been exposed to domestic violence, parental mental illness and substance abuse” (Dregan and Gulliford). These children are being placed into foster care so that they can get away from home abuse, not so they can move closer towards it. The foster children’s varied outcomes of what their adult lives are is because of the different experiences they grew up with in their foster homes. The one-third of those other foster children usually has a better outcome in adult life than the other two-thirds, which is a big problem considering the high percentage of children being abused in their foster homes. Although, the foster care

The Association Between Foster Care and Substance Abuse Risk Factors and Treatment Outcomes: An Exploratory Secondary Analysis

Several studies have documented the increased prevalence of emotional and behavioral disorders in the foster care population “

Children in foster care are more likely to have mental, physical, and developmental problems, but are also less likely to receive the health care they need for those problems (Committee on Early Childhood, Adoption and Dependent

An adult’s psychological development depends on one’s childhood experiences with adults and their capability of providing nurturance, protection, trust, and security to the developing child. Children with current and previous ties to the foster care system were found to have behavioral, emotional, and social well-being issues. The United States averages more than 400,000 children in foster care during the year. Amongst these 400,000 children, as many as 50% have developmental disorders or psychiatric diagnoses (Hutchinson). Children placed within the foster care system are more likely to be found to have mental health issues due to the inadequacy

Foster care is a multifaceted service. It serves children who have experienced abuse or neglect at the hands of their birthparents and families, and their foster parents. Children in foster care may live with unrelated foster parents, with relatives, with families who plan to adopt them, or in group homes or residential treatment centers. Foster care was designed to intervene on behalf of the children during their time of crisis, with hope of reuniting the children with their families in a safe, stable and loving environment. Some children remain in foster care for extended periods of time. Many “age out” and go on to live on their own. This research looks

According to Phillips et al., 54% of youth who had recently exited foster care had a diagnosed mental health condition. Of those youth, 25% were experiencing PTSD and 20% were experiencing major depression. They also found that 33% of Midwest evaluation study participants had social anxiety, 25% had depression, 60% had PTSD, and 14.5% were taking psychotropic medications (2015). One study found that not only are adolescents in foster care more at risk for chronic illness and mental health issues, but that those with chronic illness reported greater internalizing and externalizing problems, a greater number of delinquent acts and heightened overall delinquency. One key finding was that depression, which is very prevalent among this group, significantly mediated the effects of overall health on delinquency (Woods, Farineau, & Mcwey, 2013).

Although foster care can be a great system by providing kids with homes, sometimes we don’t see what’s happening behind the closed doors. The children that enter the “system” typical have experience or will experience emotional or physical trauma that impacts their development. If children’s mental states are not properly

One major concern in the foster care system is that the population of foster care students experiences more behavioral and mental health issues than that of the general population. In fact, compared to the one in five general population children, more than half of the population of foster care children experience a behavioral or mental health issue (Ogg, et al., 2015). Using the number initially presented, that would mean that more than 214,000 children in foster care suffer from a behavioral or mental health issue. Continuing the comparisons of foster care population to general population, children in foster care are “twice as likely to have a learning disability” says Turney

Everywhere across the world, more and more children are being placed into foster care or a welfare type system. Foster care can benefit children or harm them; the effects of foster care differ for every individual. These types of systems often have a major effect on young children’s physiological state. Children entering in foster care are often malnourished and have untreated health problems. A high percentage of children who are placed in these types of systems have mental health, physical health, and/or developmental issue which often originates while the individuals are still in the custody of the biological parents. Children in foster care should be provided with a healthy and nurturing environment which often provides positive long term results. The age of children in a foster care varies across the world, but it is often seen that majority of these children are young (George para. 1). There are more young children in the system because younger children require more adequate care than older children that are already in the system. Placing these children in welfare systems is supposed to be a healing process for them. Although this is supposed to be a healing process, statistics say these children have a negative experience while being in these systems, but this is not always the case. A number of children in foster care fall sucker to continuous neglect and recurrent abuse with the lack of nurturing and an unstable environment. These same children often have unmet

Doctor Joann Grayson, an individual who initiated more than 11 prevention programs in the Harrisonburg-Rockingham community (Grayson, 2012, p.2), provides a spectacular review of the mental health need in the foster care population in her article discussed by the CYF. Grayson considers the challenges that the systems are

A population-at-risk I have chosen was the youth aging-out of foster care. By calling it "age-out" I’m referring to it as occurring both before and after leaving foster care. Nationally, there are 20,000 youth in foster care who are at the aging out of foster care. Generally, these children has been abused or neglected. There are those who feel as if foster care can have some type of impact on this particular lifestyle for these youth adults aging out of this care. Some feel that there may be some foster care homes that may possibly not help the child deal with their situation for leaving their family homes. For example, the child may have been physically or sexually abused, and or, have lived with parents with alcohol or

Foster children have a higher chance of developing PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), and 90% have witnessed a traumatic event in their lifetime (The N.C Division of Social Services and Family and Children’s Resource Program.) The foster children also have higher than average stress levels in their lives. All of these mental disorders lead to higher chances of suicide. Eighty percent of foster children have serious mental issues (Megan McCann, 2015) Foster children can also develop depression, poor social skills, and aggression. Unfortunately, mental illnesses lead to stress, which leads back into mental illnesses. Mental illness lowers the quality of life, making the child more prone to bad decisions and

There was a two-week test-retest reliability of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment(CAPA), this conclusion was done on children from 10 to 18 years of age. This assessment was practically identical to other profoundly organized meetings (ks for singular issue running from 0.6-1.0). Posttest differences then reflect both symptom changes and differential

The idea that certain risk factors make it more likely that children will experience poor mental health is based on research findings that show how frequently, and under what conditions, children’s mental health difficulties occur. Knowing what kinds of factors put children at risk of mental health difficulties helps health experts plan and develop the kinds of support and resources needed to be able to intervene early to improve children’s mental health (U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2015). It also helps to guide efforts to prevent mental health problems developing.