Mental Health Symptom Profiles of Adolescents in Foster Care

AbstractThe article describes an investigation of the nature, patterns and complexity of carer-reported mental health symptoms for a population sample (N = 230) of adolescents (age 12–17) placed in long-term foster and kinship care following chronic and severe maltreatment. Two cluster analyses of Child Behaviour Checklist DSM-oriented (CBCL-DSM) and Assessment Checklist for Adolescents sub-scale scores of clinical cases were performed. The fi rst yielded 8 profiles of attachment- and trauma-related symptoms as measured across eight ACA scales (N = 113 cases). The second yielded 11 profiles of a broader range of symptoms, as measured across five CBCL–DSM and five ACA sub-scales (N = 141 cases). The symptom profiles derived from both cluster analyses are differentiated more by symptom severity and complexity, than by symptom specificity – suggesting that trauma- and attachment-related symptomatology does not conform to a taxonomy of discrete disorders. Five of the 11 CB CL-DSM/ACA profiles describe severe and complex symptomatology that does not correspond to discrete DSM-5 or ICD-11 diagnoses. Accurate measurement and formulation of clinical phenomena is an essential component of evidence-based psychological and psychiatric practice. Clinicians who carry out menta l health assessments of children and adolescents in care should be aware of the limits of the diagnostic classification systems for formulating complex attachment- and trauma-related symptomatology...
Source: Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma - Category: Child Development Source Type: research