Elevated Risk of Mental Disorders and Trauma Among Foster Care Children
Engler et al. (2020) state that foster-care children have higher mental disorder rates. The authors review the condition of children in foster care and emphasize that it is not only depression or trauma that causes suicidal thoughts or suicide attempts among adopted children. This article examines the level of mental disorders in children and the specific types experienced by this population. In addition to depression and traumatic experiences, children may experience many more mental problems caused by foster care experiences. The authors also study how factors such as abuse or factors within the foster family may affect mental health outcomes.
According to Stewart et al. (2023), most adopted children report multiple adverse childhood experiences (MAEs), including exposure to violence, abuse, neglect, and drug/alcohol use. The authors emphasize that various traumatic experiences, of which almost three-quarters of adopted children have two or more types, are directly related to the subsequent development and severity of mental disorders (Stewart et al., 2023).
The Lack of Adequate Psychological Support and Promising Intervention Strategies
It has been documented that rates of suicidal ideation are higher among adopted children than non-adopted children (Stewart et al., 2023). The basis of the article is the study of the availability of psychological assistance to foster children. The authors suggest that while children in foster care exhibit significantly larger and more severe mental health problems, constant adequate psychological assistance is inaccessible for them (Stewart et al., 2023).
The leading theory of Russell et al. (2021) is that those who exhibit suicidal behavior have a high level of emotional dysregulation. The article aims to identify the role of suicide prevention interventions in reducing suicide among children who are or were in care outside the family. The authors consider various types of interventions and their effectiveness, highlighting the main areas of preventive work with children.
According to Russell et al. (2021), the most promising interventions are based on emotion regulation and cognition. They also emphasize interventions aimed at solving problems associated with trauma. The researchers argue that outcomes, including suicide prevention interventions, for the general population may reduce the risk of suicide (Russell et al., 2021).
Parental Support and Training in Mitigating Trauma
In their paper, Hartinger-Saunders et al. (2019) examine the role of parents in preventing the development of adoption trauma. The authors argue that it is important that adoptive parents should be adequately trained; teaching expectant parents practical strategies for coping with trauma is critical (Hartinger-Saunders et al., 2019). Lack of education and support for adoptive parents, especially those with special needs, before and after an adoption has been associated with adoption failures, which can increase a child’s risk of suicide. Thus, this article helps to consider how foster parents can mitigate the traumatic experience of being adopted. The study not only answers the questions posed in the paper but also reveals the goals.
References
Engler, A. D., Sarpong, K. O., Van Horne, B. S., Greeley, C. S., & Keefe, R. J. (2020). A systematic review of Mental Health Disorders of children in Foster Care. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 23(1), 255–264. Web.
Hartinger-Saunders, R. M., Jones, A. S., & Rittner, B. (2019). Improving access to trauma-informed adoption services: Applying a developmental trauma framework. Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma, 12(1), 119–130. Web.
Russell, D. H., Trew, S., & Higgins, D. J. (2021). Vulnerable yet forgotten? A systematic review identifying the lack of evidence for effective suicide interventions for young people in contact with child protection systems. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 91(5), 647–659. Web.
Stewart, S. L., Graham, A. A., & Poss, J. W. (2023). Examining the mental health indicators and service needs of children living with Foster Families. Children and Youth Services Review, 147. Web.