Table 2.
Mental Health Functioning of Adolescents in Foster Care: Lifetime Diagnoses and Diagnoses in the Past Year
| Mental Health Diagnoses | CFOMH Study (ages 14–17) | NCS-A (Adolescent General Population, ages 14–17)a | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lifetime (%) | Past year (%) | Lifetime (%) | Past year (%) | |
| At least one CIDI DSM-IV diagnosisb | 63.3 | 35.8 | 45.9 (−) | 36.2 (=) |
| Three or more CIDI diagnosesb | 22.8 | 7.7 | 14.7 (−) | 9.1 (=) |
| Alcohol abuse | 7.7 | 3.6 | 5.9 (=) | 4.4 (=) |
| Alcohol dependence | 3.6 | 2.0 | 1.1 (−) | 0.8 (=) |
| Anorexia | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 (=) | 0.1 (=) |
| ADHD | 15.1 | — | 4.5 (−) | — |
| Bulimia | 3.2 | 1.1 | 1.1 (−) | 0.8 (=) |
| Conduct disorder | 20.7 | 8.3 | 7.0 (−) | 3.8 (−) |
| Drug abuse | 14.1 | 2.1 | 8.8 (−) | 5.7 (+) |
| Drug dependence | 4.2 | 1.5 | 1.8 (−) | 1.2 (=) |
| Dysthymia | 4.5 | 2.0 | 3.7 (=) | 2.7 (=) |
| Generalized anxiety disorder | 4.7 | 2.1 | 2.5 (=) | 1.7 (=) |
| Hypomania | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.7 (+) | 3.0 (+) |
| Intermittent explosive disorder | 13.9 | 8.6 | 14.4 (=) | 11.8 (=) |
| Major depressive disorder | 19.0 | 10.9 | 11.9 (−) | 8.4 (=) |
| Major depressive episode | 19.0 | 10.9 | 14.1 (−) | 10.2 (=) |
| Mania | 9.3 | 5.5 | 1.7 (−) | 1.3 (−) |
| Nicotine dependence | 3.1 | 2.0 | 6.7 (=) | 5.1 (=) |
| Oppositional defiant disorder | 29.3 | — | — | — |
| Panic attack | 18.9 | 6.8 | 20.3 (=) | 11.2 (=) |
| Panic disorder | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.5 (+) | 2.1 (=) |
| PTSD | 13.4 | 9.3 | 5.2 (−) | 3.6 (−) |
| Separation anxiety disorder | 12.0 | 0.0 | 8.9 (=) | 2.1 (=) |
| Social phobia | 10.5 | 7.2 | 14.6 (=) | 13.1 (+) |
| Sample size | 188 | 7753 | ||
p < .05
Notes: “—” indicates that the diagnosis was not assessed. Symbols in parentheses indicate whether rates were significantly different between the CFOMH study and other studies. A “(−)” means that the comparison study rate was significantly lower than the CFOMH rate, a “(=)” means that the rates were similar, and a “(+)” means that the comparison study rate was significantly higher.
Data from the NCS-A are weighted on age, race/ethnicity, and sex to match the demographics of the current study.
All diagnoses listed in this table were included in the variables “at least one CIDI DSM-IV diagnosis” and “three or more CIDI DSM-IV diagnoses” except major depressive episode, oppositional defiant disorder, and panic attack. These diagnoses were excluded to match those included in the NCS-A (further, major depressive episode overlaps with major depressive disorder, and panic attack overlaps with panic disorder). If a youth had both alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence, it was counted as only one disorder; the same was true for drug abuse and drug dependence. ADHD was included in the lifetime rates but not in the 12-month rates.