A landmark study has found that one in four teenagers with experience of foster, residential, or kinship care have attempted suicide, making them four times more likely to do so than peers with no care experience. The research, based on data from 19,000 UK children born between 2000 and 2002, also found higher rates of self-harm, depression, and teenage pregnancy among care-experienced adolescents. Experts have called the findings a "national emergency," urging sustained, family-focused support throughout a young person's life to address these stark mental health inequalities. The Department for Education described the results as "deeply troubling."
The Guardian