Publication year: 2011
Source: Children and Youth Services Review, In Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available online 18 July 2011
Victoria H., Coleman-Cowger , Binta Alleyne, Green , Trenette T., Clark
The purpose of this study is to (1) compare youth entering substance abuse treatment with and without a history of foster care placement to determine any differences in mental health, substance use, and exposure to victimization, and (2) determine if mental health, substance use, and/or exposure to victimization predict past pregnancy among the sample with a history of foster care placement. The pooled dataset consisted of 17,124 adolescents (12–17years of age) who completed the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs at intake for substance abuse treatment in 2009. Of these, 366 (2.1%) reported having been in foster care in the past…
Highlights: ► We compare youth entering substance treatment with/without history of foster care. ► We determine differences in mental health, substance use, and victimization. ► We determine if these factors predict past pregnancy within the foster care sample. ► Foster care youth report higher mental distress and high levels of victimization. ► Past pregnancy was predicted by internal mental distress for foster care youth.