Looked after or overlooked? An exploratory investigation of the mental health issues of adolescents living in state care in Northern Ireland

Psychology, Health and Medicine

Volumn 15, Issue 5, 2010, Pages 497-506

  Cousins, Wendy ^a   Taggart, Laurence ^a   Milner, Sharon ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF ULSTER   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

adolescents; children's rights; mental health; Northern Ireland; state care

Indexed keywords

ADOLESCENT; ARTICLE; CHILD; CHILD BEHAVIOR; FEMALE; HUMAN; MALE; MENTAL DISEASE; MENTAL HEALTH; NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE; PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT; QUESTIONNAIRE; UNITED KINGDOM;

ADOLESCENT; ADOLESCENT BEHAVIOR; CHILD; FEMALE; HUMANS; MALE; MENTAL DISORDERS; MENTAL HEALTH; NORTHERN IRELAND; QUESTIONNAIRES; STATE MEDICINE;

EID: 77956575030     PISSN: 13548506     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/13548506.2010.487110     Document Type: Article

References (27)

1. Bamford Review of Mental Health and Learning Disability (Northern Ireland) (2006). Mental health and well-being - A personal, public and political issue. Retrieved April 12, 2010, from www.rmhldni.gov.uk/pubs/mhp-committee/ mhp-committee.pdf.
2. Cousins, W., McGowan, I., and Milner, S. (2008). Self harm and attempted suicide in young people looked after in state care. Journal of Children's and Young People's Nursing, 2(2), 51-53.
3. Cousins, W., and Milner, S. (2006). Children's rights: A cross-border study of adolescent residential care. Irish Journal of Psychology, 27(1-2), 88-96.
4. Department of Health Social Services and Public Safety Northern Ireland (2003). Mental health services. Retrieved April 12, 2010, from chapter-7.pdf.
5. Department of Health Social Services and Public Safety Northern Ireland (2009). Looked after children. Retrieved April 12, 2010, from search-cib-looked-after-children.
6. Dickey, W.C., and Blumberg, S. (2004). Revisiting the factor structure of the strengths and difficulties questionnaire. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 43(9), 1159-1167.
7. Goodman, R. (1997). The strengths and difficulties questionnaire: A research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 38, 581-586.
8. Goodman, R. (1999). The extended version of the strengths and difficulties questionnaire as a guide to child psychiatric caseness and consequent burden. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 40, 791-799.
9. Goodman, R., Meltzer, H., and Bailey, V. (1998). The strengths and difficulties questionnaire: A pilot study on the validity of the self-report version. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 7, 125-130.
10. Goodman, R., and Scott, S. (1999). Comparing the strengths and difficulties questionnaire and the child behaviour checklist. Is small beautiful? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 40, 17-24.
11. Kelleher, C.C. (2003). Mental health and "the Troubles" in Northern Ireland: Implications of civil unrest for health and wellbeing. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 57, 474-475.
12. Lindsay, M.J. (2003). Towards a theory of "careism": Discrimination against young people in care. Children's rights in residential care. Glasgow: The Centre for Residential Childcare.
13. Mathai, J., Anderson, P., and Bourne, A. (2003). Use of the strengths and difficulties questionnaire as an outcome measure in a child and adolescent mental health service. Australasian Psychiatry, 11, 334-337.
14. Mellor, D., and Strokes, M. (2007). The factor structure of the strengths and difficulties questionnaire. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 23(2), 105-112.
15. Meltzer, G., Corbin, T., Gatward, R., Goodman, R., and Ford, T. (2003). The mental health of young people looked af ter by local authorities in England: Summary report. London: The Stationery Office.
16. Meltzer, H., Gatward, R., Goodman, R., and Ford, F. (2000). Mental health of children and adolescents in Great Britain. London: The Stationery Office.
17. Mullan, C., Rollock, F., McAlister, S., and Fitzsimons, L. (2007). "Don't be so formal, I'm normal": A research report on the mental health of looked after children/care leavers in Northern Ireland. Belfast: VOYPIC.
18. Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People (2006). NICCY calls for action on mental health services. Retrieved April 12, 2010, from news.asp?id=53816.
19. Orbell, S., Trew, K., and McWhirter, L. (1990). Mental illness in Northern Ireland; A comparison with Scotland and England. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 25, 165-169.
20. O'Reilly, D., and Stevenson, O. (2003). Mental health in Northern Ireland: Have "the Troubles" made it worse? Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 57, 488492.
21. Pecora, P.J., White, C.R., Jackson, L.J., and Wiggins, T. (2009). Mental health of current and former recipients of foster care: A review of recent studies in the USA. Child and Family Social Work, 14, 132-146.
22. Rutter, M. (2000). Children in substitute care: Some conceptual considerations and research implications. Children and Youth Services Review, 22(9/10), 685-703.
23. Taggart, L., Cousins, W., and Milner, S. (2007). Young people with learning disabilities living in state care: Their emotional, behavioural and mental health status. Child Care in Practice, 13(4), 401-416.
24. Teggart, T., and Linden, M.A. (2006). Investigating service users' and carers' views of child and adolescent mental health services in Northern Ireland. Child Care in Practice, 12(1), 27-41.
25. Teggart, T., and Menary, J. (2005). An investigation of the mental health needs of children looked after by Craigavon and Banbridge health and social services trust. Child Care in Practice, 11(1), 39-49.
26. United Nations (1989). Convention on the rights of the child. Retrieved April 12, 2010, from
27. World Health Organization (1948). Constitution of the World Health Organization.In. Handbook of basic documents (5th ed). Geneva: WHO.