Beyond the General Population: Suicidality in Foster Youth Versus Various Family Structures

Background and Purpose: Prior literature indicates that youth in the foster care system have a higher risk for suicidal behavior than their peers in the general population. However, most of these studies focus on fatal suicides rather than non-fatal or suicidal ideation. They also typically compare foster youth to the general youth population, but given the growing complexity of American families, this may result in an overestimated suicide likelihood among foster youth.

Despite extensive research on youth suicide and prevention programs, few studies have explored the impact of family structure on youth suicide risk. Our study aims to address this gap by comparing foster youth to other family structures for a more detailed understanding of their suicide risk. This approach illuminates how these risks may vary not only by family structure, but also by race/ethnicity, gender identity, and location.

Methods: Drawing on large cross-sectional panel data from Illinois, the Illinois Youth Survey (IYS), we investigated the prevalence of foster care youth’s (ages 13-19) suicidal ideation, compared to other family structures. Our sample consisted of students in 9th-12th grade who were asked if they had seriously considered attempting suicide in the past 12 months. This sample was majority male (51.2%) and majority white (62.4%) with an average age of approximately 15 years old. Five different family structures were identified, (1) youth who lived in a two-parent household, (2) youth who lived with foster parent(s) or in a group home, (3) youth who lived with one parent, (4) youth who lived with their grandparent(s), and (5) youth who lived with legal guardian(s).

We utilized logistic regression analysis to help independently assess the risk of suicidality, specifically the presence or absence of suicidal ideation, across youth with various family structures. Other predictors including gender identity, geography, race/ethnicity, GPA, and post-graduation plans were also assessed.

Results: Generally, family structure did have an impact on youth’s rates of suicidality. Our most notable findings show that foster youth were approximately 4 times more likely to have considered suicide in the past 12 months than their peers living in two parent households. Youth living with a legal guardian were 3 times more likely. Notably, Native American/American Indian youth had elevated rates of suicidality across almost all family structures, except those living with grandparents. Foster youth in rural areas and single parent households in Chicago also had higher suicidality rates.

Conclusion and Implications: These findings align with prior literature on rates of suicidality among foster youth but offer a more nuanced understanding by quantifying the increased likelihood relative to other family structures. Gaining insight into specific subsets of youth at higher suicidality risk is crucial for targeting interventions in schools, clinical settings, and policy making. It also emphasizes the need for further research among youth from various family structures.