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Mental Health Outcomes of Youth In-Care: Investigating the Effect of General Strain and Self-control Theories

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Abstract

The adverse mental health outcomes of youth in-care have been examined from a number of disciplinary perspectives. A sociological approach emphasizes the importance that environmental and social factors play in the development of mental health problems. What remains unknown is the extent to which general strain theory (GST) and self-control theory can explain the mental health outcomes of youth in-care. The sample consists of 1419 youth taken from the 2016 Ontario Looking After Children (OnLAC) project who are between 16 and 17 years of age. Results indicate that having lower levels of self-control, experiencing multiple placement changes, group home placement, and being female are associated with an increase in psychiatric services and lower positive mental health. The findings highlight the importance of recognizing both the direct and indirect relationship of strain and self-control on mental health outcomes of youth in-care.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Robert Flynn, Meagan Miller, and The Centre for Research on Educational and Community Services for all their help with accessing the OnLAC project data. We also thank the editor and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful suggestions with our manuscript. Finally, we acknowledge the Ontario Association for Children’s Aid Societies.

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  1. Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON, NIG2W1, Canada

    Greggory J. Cullen, Carolyn Yule, David Walters & William O’Grady

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  1. Greggory J. Cullen
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Correspondence to Greggory J. Cullen.

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Table 4 Logistic regression of depression, 2016 OnLAC survey
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Cullen, G.J., Yule, C., Walters, D. et al. Mental Health Outcomes of Youth In-Care: Investigating the Effect of General Strain and Self-control Theories. Child Adolesc Soc Work J 39, 409–423 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-021-00748-x

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