What Are The Mental Health Effects of Living in Foster Care?

Foster children face numerous challenges. The overwhelming thought of stripping them away from home is stressful, but for many youngsters joining the social security system, this is only the start.

Many children have been forced to evacuate as a result of violence. Since they are moved from one home to another, most are forced to adjust to continuously changing settings.

Staying in a foster care facility is difficult in any circumstance, and can have a serious effect on a child’s behavioral and mental health. To promote foster children’s safety and mental health, it is essential to comprehend what they confront daily and the dangers they encounter.

Mental Trauma

Children are separated from their homes due to negligence, death of parents, parent’s involvement in substance abuse, parents going to prison, or sexual or physical abuse can have a detrimental effect on their psychological well-being leading to emotional and mental trauma.

Children in foster homes are frequently relocated around and must meet with a lot of different people along their path. They are constantly beginning afresh, which can lead to bonding and separation issues, affecting the child’s potential to build and sustain healthy connections. It can also be a traumatic experience for children to try to live with whole different people with different natures and living standards.

Mental Health Issues Related to Foster Homes

Foster children are one of the most fragile, so it’s not surprising that most suffer from behavioral and mental health issues.

When a stranger takes you out of your house and places you in a new home or communal environment with other strangers, you will feel resentment, uncertainty, anxiety, and insecurity.

The following are the common mental health issues:

• Separation anxiety disorder
• Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Eating disorders
• Personality disorder
• Substance abuse
• Violent behavior

Broken Familial Bonds

In certain circumstances, returning the child to the family is neither safe nor in the children’s best interests. This might damage family connections and bonding, which can contribute to cognitive health disorders such as anxiety and depression.

Sibling separation can also contribute to depression in foster homes. Unfortunately, this is not always feasible to keep siblings united, mostly because many adoptive families lack the space to shelter several kids. This can be damaging to a child’s psychological health.

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