Children of care leavers risk inheriting parents’ emotional scars

Parent and child - iStock The trauma associated with care experience casts a long shadow on mothers' mental health and that of their children, finds new UCL research. The researchers found that mothers who had lived in care were at greater risk of mental health difficulties than their peers who hadn't experienced care, with their children also experiencing higher rates of psychological problems. However, there was evidence of resilience among care leavers. Although they were more likely to experience multiple disadvantages in health, education and employment, more than a quarter of mothers who grew up in care went on to gain educational qualifications and have stable employment. The research, supported by the Nuffield Foundation, involved mothers and their children taking part in the Millennium Cohort Study, which follows people born across the UK between 2000 and 2002. Of the more than 18,000 mothers included in the analysis, around 300 (1.7%) reported that they had lived in a children's home or in foster care during childhood. Lead author, Dr Sam Parsons (UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies) said: "This is the first UK study to show that the emotional scars associated with growing up in care are passed down through generations.