Abstract
The prevalence of psychological disorder, the topology of symptom syndromes manifested, and relative risks for disordered status and individual syndromes were determined for an entire population of 4- to 18-year-olds in foster care. Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach & Edelbrock, 1983) ratings by foster parents were employed to determine clinical status. Nearly half the population manifested evidence of psychological disorder. The full spectrum of syndromes tapped by the CBCL was represented. Relative risks associated with foster status were almost 2 to over 32 times greater than for home-reared children. Regional cultural phenomena and sociohistorical events were hypothesized to explain discrepancies with lower rates reported previously. The need to make foster care a therapeutic intervention in addition to a temporary caregiving arrangement is discussed.
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