Suicides for this group have not been studied in any great depth (very little on anything about this group has been studied) but it would appear to my reading that it is not abuse or neglect that leads to overrepressentaion in such heads as suicide but rather the intervention itself that has the most bearing.
In NSW Australia our Children's Commissioner through the Child Deaths Review Unit refuses to look at the death rates of children in care, and in fact has removed the 'previously known to DOCS' (CPS) catagory. Not surprising realy since that category blossomed out to a staggering 60-80% in the three annual reports from a small 8% in the first report! Hence we know absolutly nothing about kids in care which is just how it should be in any organisation dedicated and legislatively mandated to protecting children.
OUTCOMES
46. Any improvements in the quality of service do not seem to be
reflected in outcomes. The Who Cares? Trust
supplied us with a useful summary of research findings over the
past two decades which illustrate the extent to
which care leavers underperform and are disadvantaged (with dates
of publication of research in brackets):
Education: between 50% and 75% of care leavers complete their
schooling with no formal qualifications
compared with only 6% of the general population (1992, 1995)
Further education: between 12% and 19% of care leavers go on to
further education compared with 68% of the
general population (1994, 1995)
Employment: between 50% and 80% of care leavers are unemployed
(1986)
Offending: 23% of adult pr!
!
isoners and 38% of young prisoners have
been in care (1991)
Parenthood: at least one in seven young women leaving care are
pregnant or already mothers (1986) [ 1:3 to 1:4 in NSW ]
Homelessness: 30% of young, single homeless people have been in
care (1981) [50% in Australia]
Poverty: one in ten 16-17 year old claimants of DSS severe
hardship payments have been in care (1993).[46]
47. Other recent research suggests that up to 50% of children
looked after may be in need of some form of health
intervention, that up to 30% may have special educational needs,
and that 67% may experience psychiatric disorders compared with 15% in the general population.[47]
```````````