Psychiatric disorder among British children looked after by local authorities: Comparison with children living in private households
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Background: Children looked after by local authorities are at higher risk of poor psychosocial outcomes than children living in private households, but nationally representative and random samples of the two groups of children have not previously been compared. Aims: To find explanations for the increased prevalence of psychiatric disorder in children looked after by local authorities. Method: We examined socio-demographic characteristics and psychopathology by type of placement among children looked after in Britain by local authorities ( n = 1453), and compared these children with deprived and non-deprived children living in private households ( n = 10 428). Results: Children looked after by local authorities had higher levels of psychopathology, educational difficulties and neurodevelopmental disorders, and ‘looked after’ status was independently associated with nearly all types of psychiatric disorder after adjusting for these educational and physical factors. The prevalence of psychiatric disorder was particularly high among those living in residential care and with many recent changes of placement. Conclusions: Our findings indicate a need for greater support of this vulnerable group of children.
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The prevalence of mental health problems in foster children estimated by symptom checklists is in the range of 42.7% to 61.0%.
“The prevalence of mental health problems in foster children has primarily been investigated using symptom checklists, providing an overall estimated prevalence of mental health problems in the range of 42.7% to 61.0% [6-11].”
From Mental disorders in foster children: a study of prevalence, comorbidity and risk factors (2013) · cites this paper as [11]
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“Interventions to target these outcomes are imperative, as research indicates that care-experienced populations report relatively pronounced adversity when compared to non-care-experienced peers (Bronsard et al., 2016; Engler et al., 2022; Ford et al., 2018; Long et al., 2017).”
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- Authors
- Ford, T., Vostanis, P., Meltzer, H., & Goodman, R.
- Affiliations
- King's College London (GB)
- University of Leicester (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Ford, Tamsin
- Venue
- British Journal of Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Royal College of Psychiatrists
- Published
- 2007-04
- Volume
- 190
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 319-325
- ISSN
- 0007-1250 (ISSN-L)
- 1472-1465
- OpenAlex
- W1980772304
- Cited by
- 520
- References
- 30
- Citations by year
- 2026: 22 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 48 · 2023: 34 · 2022: 34 · 2021: 30 · 2020: 37 · 2019: 34 · 2018: 33 · 2017: 31 · 2016: 29 · 2015: 32 · 2014: 33 · 2013: 21 · 2012: 31
- FWCI
- 31.95
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- bjp.rcpsych.org
- Locations
- The British Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Leicester Research Archive (University of Leicester) (submittedVersion)
- Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Child Welfare and Adoption
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
- Keywords
- children in care, child psychopathology, child welfare, residential care, placement changes, academic difficulties, neurodevelopmental disorders, deprivation, private households, psychopathology, child mental health
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Mental Disorders, Child, Child, Preschool, Family Characteristics, Female, United Kingdom, Humans, Male, Mental Health, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Risk Factors, Social Environment, Social Welfare, Socioeconomic Factors, Prevalence, Orphanages
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