One in four UK teenagers in care have attempted to end their lives, study says | Health
One in four young people in care have tried to take their own life, and are four times more likely to do so than their peers without care experience, according to a groundbreaking study.
The research analyzed data from the millennium cohort study, which tracked the lives of 19,000 people born in the UK between 2000 and 2002, and assessed how out-of-home care, including foster care, live-in care and kinship care, affected participants’ social and mental health outcomes.
The analysis found that more than one in four (26%) 17-year-olds living in foster or residential care had attempted to take their own life, compared to just one in 14 (7%) of young people with no experience of being in care.
While previous research has found that around 7% of children in the UK have attempted suicide by the age of 17, this study, led by academics from the UCL Center for Longitudinal Studies and funded by the Nuffield Foundation, is the first to calculate the increased risk of suicide in care-experienced young people.
Lisa Harker, director of the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory, said it was a “national emergency” that one in four care-experienced children attempted suicide.
He added: “This study also shows that the challenges young people face are not inevitable or insurmountable. We can and must do much more to provide care-experienced young people with the intensive support they need. Doing so is not only morally right but will also pay dividends in reducing inequalities across the lifespan.”
The research found that not only were care-experienced young people more likely to attempt to end their own lives, this group also had multiple negative mental health conditions compared to their peers.
The analysis found that almost six in 10 (56%) young people with foster care experience had self-harmed, compared to just under a quarter (24%) of young people with no foster care experience. Additionally, according to the Kessler scale, almost four in 10 youth (39%) with foster care experience report high levels of depression, compared to only 16% of youth without foster care experience.
The findings also show that, compared to their peers, teens with grooming experience are more likely to have had sex, and if they have, they are more likely to have had underage sex and to have impregnated or impregnated someone.
Almost a fifth (18%) of young people in foster or residential care and one in six young people in relative care were either pregnant or had someone pregnant; However, only one in 25 (4%) of young people with no care experience achieved these rates.
Dr D., from the UCL Institute for Social Research and co-author of the study. Ingrid Schoon said it was “worrying” that teenagers in care were facing high rates of mental health problems.
“These realities call for a family-focused approach that ensures support remains available throughout the young person’s life. The current ‘cliff edge’ where support ends abruptly needs to be removed,” Schoon said. “While it seems clear that early adversity can have long-term effects, our study provides solid evidence of how profoundly this disadvantage persists not only for care-experienced individuals, but also for their children. This underscores the urgent need for systemic change.”
Gemma Byrne, policy and impact manager at Mind, said: “All children and young people deserve timely and equal access to mental health care at an early stage, no matter where they live or what their home background is. We know this is particularly important for care-experienced young people, which is why these findings are so concerning.”
A Ministry of Education spokesperson said: “This research is deeply disturbing and the extent of harm faced by care-experienced young people is unacceptable. We are determined to understand and address the shockingly high number of premature deaths among care-experienced young people.”
“That’s why change needs to come sooner. As part of our Plan for Change, the government is taking action to help children in care access mental health support earlier, bringing social workers and NHS professionals together to provide joint support when it’s needed most.”
