Pathways into and through mental health services for children and adolescents.

Full Abstract

OBJECTIVE:
This study examined points of entry into the mental health service system for children and adolescents as well as patterns of movement through five service sectors:
specialty mental health services, education, general medicine, juvenile justice, and child welfare.

METHODS:
The data were from the Great Smoky Mountains Study, a longitudinal epidemiologic study of mental health problems and service use among youths. The sample consisted of 1,420 youths who were nine, 11, or 13 years old at study entry. Each youth and a parent were interviewed at baseline and every year thereafter about the use of services for mental health problems over the three-year study period.

RESULTS:
Population estimates indicated that 54 percent of youths have used mental health services at some time during their lives. The education sector was the most common point of entry and provider of services across all age groups. The specialty mental health sector was the second most common point of entry for youths up to age 13 years, and juvenile justice was the second most common point of entry for youths between the ages of 14 and 16. Youths who entered the mental health system through the specialty mental health sector were the most likely to subsequently receive services from other sectors, and those who entered through the education sector were the least likely to do so.

CONCLUSIONS:
The education sector plays a central role as a point of entry into the mental health system. Interagency collaboration among three primary sectors-education, specialty mental health services, and general medicine-is critical to ensuring that youths who are in need of mental health care receive appropriate services.

Learn Faster Today Improve your study skills

Author information

Author/s: Farmer, Elizabeth M Z (EM); Burns, Barbara J (BJ); Phillips, Susan D (SD); Angold, Adrian (A); Costello, E Jane (EJ);

Affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Duke Universtiy School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA. bfarmer(-atsign-)psych.mc.duke.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.) (Psychiatr Serv), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2003-Jan; vol 54 (issue 1) : pp 60-6

Dates: Created 2003/01/01; Completed 2003/04/23; Revised 2004/11/17;

PMID: 12509668, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article (including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adolescent
Adolescent Health Services - organization & administration
Adult
Child
Child Health Services - organization & administration
Criminal Law
Education

Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Male
Mental Disorders - epidemiology; therapy
Mental Health Services - organization & administration; utilization
North Carolina

These are the highest related articles currently in the database:

See 100+ related articles.