Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine
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Objectives The cognitive function of homeless children and adolescents may be overlooked, albeit understandably, when societal interventions focus on their immediate housing needs. Nevertheless, homelessness might be hypothesized to carry many risks for the developing mind and brain. We wanted to discover whether this hypothesis had been tested previously. ⋯ Yet when compared with those who are domiciled, these children tend to have lower intellectual functioning and decreased academic achievement. Furthermore, adolescents evince cognitive impairments in the contexts of drug, physical, and sexual abuse. Conclusions We suggest that cognitive and mental health screening be incorporated into those intervention programs deployed to facilitate societal reintegration of homeless children and adolescents.