Tag Archives: PTSD

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Understanding Childhood Trauma: ACEs and Foster Children

Foster care may come with a stigma, especially for older youth. In the minds of many, foster children can be thought to be “too much to handle” or unruly.  Whether this is because of special medical needs or certain behavioral issues, the lives of these children are consistently misunderstood.  As child welfare professionals have come to learn, many of the stereotypical behaviors people believe are innate components of foster children are the result of the way these children have been treated.  As they grow from toddlers to teenagers, the childhood trauma they’ve experienced can and often does affect their behaviors and needs.

Foster Children Experience Childhood Trauma

Foster children experience trauma far more often than others, and this trauma can shape not only their behavior but also their worldview.  Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) occurs in foster children at very high rates – a grim testament to their experiences.  To give context to – and promote understanding for – their situation, it is important to know how trauma functions for children in care and what states can do to prevent these traumas before they can happen.
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Haunted by the Past: Foster Children with PTSD

In a report by the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a branch of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, it was found that 7 to 8 percent of the U.S. population will experience PTSD at some point in their lives. Typically, when thinking about those suffering from PTSD, many think of war veterans as the demographic hit hardest by this mental health condition. However, a study by Casey Family Programs, the University of Michigan and the Harvard Medical School found that former foster children are nearly twice as likely to experience PTSD as veterans.

Foster Children with PTSD
This study reported that 1 out of every 4 children who spent time in foster care dealt with PTSD at some point during the previous 12 months. Beyond PTSD, more than half experienced at least one mental health condition, such as social phobia or depression. In a report on the study, Ronald Kessler, a co-author of the project and a professor of Health Care Policy at Harvard, said, “…foster children’s greater likelihood of mental health risk is primarily based upon the experiences, such as neglect and abuse, that children face before entering the foster system.”
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