title: The mental health of children in foster care: a comparison with community and clinical samples.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether the psychiatric profile of children in foster care is more similar to clinical or community profiles.
  
  
  METHODS
  Caregiver and teacher ratings of DSM-III-R externalizing and internalizing symptoms were collected for 3 groups of children: children in foster care, children assessed at a children's mental health centre, and a community sample.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Children in foster care approximated the numbers and types of symptoms of the clinical sample. Coming from a family on social assistance, having a parent with a criminal history, and being of the male gender were correlated with higher externalizing and internalizing symptom scores independent of group membership. Group membership accounted for less than 5% of the variance in psychiatric symptom scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The high symptom burden of children in care is substantially attributable to their high-risk histories, and treatment should be designed with this in mind.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stein
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mazumdar
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rae-Grant
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017028:Caregivers; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005581:Foster Home Care; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012307:Risk Factors