Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

Abstract #148719

Susan G. Pfefferle, PhD, George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Center for Mental Health Services Research, Washington University in St Louis, 1 Brookings Dr, Box 1093, St Louis, MO 63130, 314-935-6376, spfefferle@gwbmail.wustl.edu and Edward L. Spitznagel, PhD, Mathematics, Washington University in St. Louis, 1 Brookings Dr, Box 1146, St Louis, MO 63130.

It is well known that parental mental health impacts upon child mental well being. What is less known is what drives parents to seek treatment for child mental health problems. The objective of this study is to identify causal pathways of child mental health service use. Such information is useful to target resources and services for families. This study used data from the 2002 National Survey of American Families to explore the relationship between maternal mental health as measured by questions adapted from the Medical Outcomes Study MHI-5 and child mental health services use. Observations were limited to the 8072 most knowledgeable adults who were the mothers of target children aged 6-11. Path analyses were performed using SAS Proc CALIS. Poor maternal health was associated with increased parental aggravation which in turn was associated with increased use of mental health visits. Negative child behaviors as reported by the mother were also associated with increased maternal aggravation and increased service use. All paths were significant at the .05 level of significance or below. The Chi Square for the lack of fit of the model was insignificant. Parental perception of child behaviors drives treatment seeking, both directly and indirectly through parental aggravation. Parental tolerance for child behaviors is influenced by their own mental health status. Our findings are consistent with other studies. Parental report should not be the only method for identifying childhood mental disorders as parental perception of child behaviors is influenced by their own mental health. Policy implications are discussed.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the pathways by which children reach services for mental health issues.
• Recognize the need to use more than parental report when assessing the child's need for treatment.
• Recognize opportunities to identify parental mental health issues when children present for treatment.

Keywords: Mental Health Services, Child/Adolescent Mental Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.