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Organizational context and provider perception as determinants of mental health service use

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Abstract

This study refines and tests an individual client model of service use and contrasts it with a model of service provision based on gateway provider perspectives. Structural equation models demonstrate that provider variables account for more service use variation than client variables. The client model accounts for 24% of the variance in service use, while the provider model accounts for 55% of the variance. Youth self-reported mental health was not positively associated with increased services or with provider perception of youth mental health. The provider model demonstrates the critical role played by provider perceptions, which are influenced more by work environment than by client problems.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University, One Brookings Drive, Campus Box 1196, 63130, St. Louis, MO

    Arlene Rubin Stiffman PhD (Professor), Catherine Striley MSW (Research Assistant), Violet E. Horvath MSW (Research Assistant), Michael Polgar PhD (Research Associate), Diane Elze PhD (Assistant Professor) & Richard Pescarino MS (Data Manager and Statistical Analyst)

  2. University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

    Eric Hadley-Ives MSW (Assistant Professor)

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  1. Arlene Rubin Stiffman PhD
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  2. Catherine Striley MSW
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  3. Violet E. Horvath MSW
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  4. Eric Hadley-Ives MSW
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  5. Michael Polgar PhD
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  6. Diane Elze PhD
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  7. Richard Pescarino MS
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Correspondence to Arlene Rubin Stiffman PhD.

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Stiffman, A.R., Striley, C., Horvath, V.E. et al. Organizational context and provider perception as determinants of mental health service use. The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research 28, 188–204 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02287461

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