One in four young Danes placed in foster care have at some point in their life attempted to commit suicide, reveals a report from the National Centre for Social Research (SFI).
The unpublished study also found that children and adolescents in this vulnerable group are five to six times more likely to commit suicide than those not placed in foster care.
Researchers asked over 1,000 Danish adults who were placed in foster care, along with a group of 4,300 Danes who were not, if they ever attempted to take their own life.
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“Not surprising”
While 28 percent of the foster care teens answered ‘yes’, the same was true for only 5 percent of the other group.
Additionally, 44 percent of those in foster care contemplated the idea.
“Unfortunately, it is not surprising – children in foster care are the most vulnerable in our society and have often experienced some very unpleasant things at a very young age,” SFI researcher Rikke Fuglsang told Altinget.
According to figures from Danmarks Statistik, 50 children and young people in foster care committed suicide between 2009 and 2014.
In seven of these cases, the kids took their own life in the same year they were removed from home.
