Depressed Homeless Kids
Posted by Administrator in Mental Health.School-age children who are homeless have higher rates of mental health problems than other children, research suggests. Researchers found that, of 46 homeless children aged 8 to 12, 57 percent had symptoms of depression, while 13 percent met the criteria for clinical depression. Boys seemed to be particularly at risk.
“Normally, we only expect 10 to 15 percent of children to have mental health problems,” said Edna Menke, author of the study and an associate professor of community, parent-child and psychiatric nursing at Ohio State University. “The homeless children in our study had a significantly increased risk of depression.”
Children account for approximately 38 percent of the homeless population in the United States. Past research has shown that children from impoverished environments are vulnerable to depression. The study appeared in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing.
Menke and her colleagues studied 46 homeless children and their mothers, identifying them from Columbus-area agencies that provide help to homeless people and from families they found living on the street. Children were considered homeless if their mothers believed the family to be homeless and if they were living in a shelter, a cheap hotel, a homeless agency apartment, an automobile or on the streets. Read more