Mental Health Problems Plague Kids After Foster Care
Young adults who were in foster care as children are much more likely to have mental health problems than others the same age, Harvard University researchers concluded from new research.
More than half of those who graduated from foster care programs had at least one mental disorder, including 25 percent with post-traumatic stress, according to an account from USA Today.
That's more than six times the rate for other adults the same age and even higher than many war veterans' levels, the newspaper said.
The researchers studied 479 adults ages 20 to 33 who had spent at least a year in foster homes while they were aged 14 to 18. About one-third lived at or below the poverty level, just 2 percent had a college degree, and more than 1 of 5 had been homeless, USA Today said.
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