PSYCHIATRIC INPATIENT TREATMENT OF FOSTERED ADOLESCENTS WITH A DEPRESSIVE DISORDER IS NOT VERY EFFECTIVE

Abstract

This study examined the efficacy of psychiatric inpatient treatment and the use of psychotropic medication in fostered young patients with a depressive disorder. The study sample consisted of 13–17 years old adolescents (n=287) treated due to a depressive disorder in the two adolescent psychiatric units of Kuopio University Hospital, Finland, during the 10-year period 2002–2011. During the study period, there were 299 treatment periods of adolescents living at home and 93 of those placed in foster care. The data concerning demographic and clinical characteristics, treatment outcomes and medication were collected from the patients’ medical records. The clinical data revealed that fostered adolescents had more previous psychiatric hospitalizations than their living at home counterparts and their treatment periods were shorter than their non-fostered peers. The decreases of BDI and HS scores from admission to discharge were significantly slighter in fostered adolescents than in their peers. Furthermore, the outcomes of inpatient treatment of severe depression were estimated by the staff teams less often as being satisfactory in fostered adolescents than in those living at home.

Keywords

• fostered adolescents
• depressive disorder
• psychiatric inpatient treatment
• treatment outcome
• psychopharmacological medication