title: Prevalence of psychiatric disorders among older youths in the foster care system.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To estimate the lifetime and past year prevalence rates of major psychiatric disorders in a sample of older youths in the foster care system, to examine the timing of disorder onset and system entry, and to explore variations in past year prevalence rates.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for DSM-IV, interviews were conducted with 373 17-year-old youths (90% of those eligible) in one state's foster care system between December 2001 and June 2003.
  
  
  RESULTS
  : Sixty-one percent of the youths qualified as having at least one psychiatric disorder during their lifetime; of these youths, 62% reported onset of their earliest disorder before entering the foster care system. In addition, 37% of youths met criteria for a psychiatric disorder in the past year. The number of types of maltreatment experienced was the most robust predictor of psychiatric disorder among several maltreatment variables. There were no differences in prevalence rates for youths in kinship care and those in nonkin foster families.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Older youths in the foster care system have disproportionately high rates of lifetime and past year psychiatric disorders. Results support recommendations for initial and periodic mental health assessments for these youths and mechanisms to continue mental health services for young adults transitioning out of the foster care system.
authors.affiliation: George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA. cmcmille@wustl.edu
authors.forename: J Curtis
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: McMillen
authors.forename: Bonnie T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Zima
authors.forename: Lionel D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: Wendy F
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Auslander
authors.forename: Michelle R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Munson
authors.forename: Marcia T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Ollie
authors.forename: Edward L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Spitznagel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005581:Foster Home Care; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence