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Abstract #153407

Ping Wu, PhD, Departments of Psychiatry and Epidemiology, Columbia University, 1051 Riverside Drive, Unit 43, New York, NY 10032, (212) 543-5190, pw11@columbia.edu, Bozena J. Katic, MPH, MPA, Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University, Women's and Children's Center, 1518 Clifton Rd. NE, Room 257-C, Atlanta, GA 30322, Xinhua Liu, PhD, Department of Biostatistics, Columbia University, 722 W 168 St., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10032, Bin Fan, MD, Child Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, 1051 Riverside Drive, Unit 43, New York, NY 10032, Cordelia J. Fuller, MS, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, 1051 Riverside Drive, Unit 43, New York, NY 10032, and David Shaffer, MD, Department of Child Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University, 1051 Riverside Drive, Unit 78, New York, NY 10032.

Objective: This cross-sectional study examined the possible health disparities related to mental health service utilization among suicidal youth. It also examined the level and nature of unmet treatment need and its relationship to racial/ethnic status and other socio-demographic factors. Methods: From a national survey, a representative sample of 877 suicide attempters (ages 12-17) were identified. Descriptive and bivariate analyses were used to assess racial/ethnic differences in the use of different types of mental health services. Logistic regression models were used to examine if the service utilization disparity could be explained by other predictors of mental health service use. Results: Less than half of all suicide attempters received any treatment for their suicidal behaviors in the year preceding the interview. While 50% of whites reported receiving services for any emotional/behavioral problems, rates of mental health service use were substantially lower for African Americans (31.3%), Hispanics (36.5%), and others (38.5%). Particularly, out-patient servcie use for those with suicidal behaviors was higest among whites (29.2%) and lowest among African Americans (12.6%); but this racial/ethnic gap was not as wide when comparing the use of school-based services. In logistic regression models, the racial/ethnic disparity in mental health service utilization remained after controlling for age, gender, insurance status, and symptom severity. Conclusion: The results indicate an unmet mental health service need in suicidal youth, especially among minorities. Policy makers and mental health professionals should aim to reduce the extisting servie use gap through improved school-based delivery and greater parent/child education measures.

Learning Objectives:

• 1.Identify individual, social, and community level barriers to access to mental health services for suicidal youth in the U.S.
• 2.Assess the degree of service use disparity among suicidal youth of white, black, Hispanic and other racial/ethnic backgrounds.
• 3.Evaluate the utilization of each mental health service type, and examine how service delivery is affected by subject age, gender, insurance status, and symptom severity.

Keywords: Health Disparities, Suicide

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.