Most children in the U.S. who need mental health services do not receive them. This disparity has been explored among older, predominantly urban youth. The purpose of this presentation is to identify use rates among younger, rural children, and their parents’ attitudes toward providers. The analysis is based on face-to-face parent interviews of 1,283 randomly-sampled children (age 4-11) living in 4 counties in rural Maine in 1997-98. Child psychopathology was assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). A structured checklist was used to assess service use ever by setting (specialty mental health, general medical, and school services), and parents’ attitudes toward providers. We compared use by age (4-5, 6-8, 9-12), gender, and rurality. All percentages and standard errors were adjusted for the sampling design. Overall, 27.2% of all children had ever used services for problems identified on the CBCL. Among youth scoring 60+ (cases), 60% had ever used services. Use in each setting was comparable: 31.2% used specialty, 38.9% used medical, and 37.9% used school services. Older child cases (9-12 y/os) were more likely to have used any services (72.6%), as compared to 6-8 y/os (50.6%) and 4-5 y/os (46.6%) (p=.021), a pattern that varied by service setting. There were no differences in use by gender or rurality. Poor opinions among parents of cases who were users were more commonly reported for school providers (50%), as compared to specialty (20%) or medical providers (31%). Implications for rural service planning and delivery will be discussed.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this presentation, the participant will be able to: 1. Identify the gaps in the U.S. child/adolescent mental health service use literature to date. 2. Describe the prevalence of mental health service use among young children by age, gender, and rurality. 3. Compare parents' opinions of services received across service settings. 4. Discuss implications for rural service delivery
Keywords: Child/Adolescent Mental Health, Rural Mental Health Services
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.