Abstract
This study investigated race/ethnic variations in age of entry into school-based services and specialty mental health outpatient services among 1552 high-risk youths served in a publicly funded system of care. Non-Hispanic White youths were more likely to receive school-based services as compared to ethnic minority groups, and to begin use at an earlier age. In addition, the earlier a child was identified for school-based services, the earlier the child first utilized specialty outpatient mental health services. Multiple regression models showed that inclusion of race/ethnicity as a predictor significantly increased the overall variance explained in the model predicting age of first school-based services, and both race/ethnicity and first use of school-based services increased the overall variance explained in the model predicting age of first specialty mental health outpatient service use. The results suggest that involvement in school-based services may play an important role in facilitating specialty outpatient mental health service use for youths.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bird, H. R., Gould, M. S., & Staghezza, B. (1992). Aggregating data from multiple informants in child psychiatry epidemiological research. Journal American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 31(1), 78–85.
Burns, B. J., Costello, E. J., Angold, A., Tweed, D., Stangl, D., Farmer, E. M. Z., et al. (1995). Children’s mental health service use across service sectors. Health Affairs, 14(4), 147–159.
Campbell, S. B., & Ewing, L. J. (1990). Follow-up of hard-to-manage preschoolers: Adjustment at age 9 and predictors of continuing symptoms. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 31(6), 871–889.
Child & Adolescent Bipolar Foundation. (2002). About early onset bipolar disorder. Retrieved May 29, 2003, from, http://www.cabf.org/learning/about.htm
Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health. (2002). Integrated treatment for youth with co-occuring mental health and substance use disorders. Retrieved May 29, 2003, from, http://64.226.135.118/pdf/F-Position%20on%20co-occurring%20disorders.pdf
Forness, S. R., Ramey, S. L., Ramey, C. T., Hsu, C., Brezausek, C. M., MacMillan, D. L., et al. (1998). Head start children finishing first grade: Preliminary data on school identification of children at risk for special education. Behavioral Disorders, 23(2), 111–124.
Garland, A. F., Hough, R. L., McCabe, K. M., Yeh, M., Wood, P. A., & Aarons, G. A. (2001). Prevalence of psychiatric disorders in youths across five sectors of care. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 40(4), 409–418.
Guralnick, M. J. (2000). Early childhood intervention: Evolution of a system. In M. L. Wehmeyer & J. R. Patton (Eds.), Mental retardation in the 21st century (pp. 37–58). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
Henry, G. T. (1990). Practical sampling. Newbury Park, Sage.
Hoagwood, K., Horwitz, S., Stiffman, A., Weisz, J., Bean, D., Rae, D., et al. (2000). Concordance between parent reports of children’s mental health services and service records: The services assessment for children and adolescents (SACA). Journal of Child and Family Studies, 9(3), 315–331.
Horwitz, S. M., Hoagwood, K., Stiffman, A. R., Summerfeld, T., Weisz, J. R., Costello, E. J., et al. (2001). Reliability of the services assessment for children and adolescents. Psychiatric Services, 52(8), 1088–1094.
Hunter, L. (2003). School psychology: A public health framework III. Managing disruptive behavior in schools: The value of a public health and evidence-based perspective. Journal of School Psychology, 41(1), 39–59.
Kataoka, S. H., Zhang, L., & Wells, K. B. (2002). Unmet need for mental health care among U.S. children: Variation by ethnicity and insurance status. American Journal of Psychiatry, 159, 1548–1555.
Korn, E. L., & Graubard, B. I. (1990). Simultaneous testing of regression coefficients with complex survey data: Use of Bonferroni t statistics. The American Statistician, 44(4), 270–276.
Leaf, P. J., Alegria, M., Cohen, P., Goodman, S. H., Horwitz, S. M., Hoven, C. W., et al. (1996). Mental health service use in the community and schools: Results from the four-community MECA study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 35(7), 889-896.
McMahon, R. J., & Wells, K. C. (1989). Conduct disorders. In E. J. Mash & R. A. Barkley (Eds.), Treatment of childhood disorders (pp. 73–132). New York: Guilford.
McMiller, W. P., & Weisz, J. R. (1996). Help-seeking preceding mental health clinic intake among African-American, Latino, and Caucasian youths. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 35(8), 1086–1094.
National Advisory Mental Health Council’s Workgroup on Child and Adolescent Mental Health Intervention Development and Deployment. (2001). Blueprint for change: Research on child and adolescent mental health. Rockville, MD: National Institute of Mental Health.
National Institute of Mental Health. (2000). Strategic plan for reducing health disparities. Retrieved December 20, 2000, from, http://www.nimh.nih.gov/strategic/strategicdisparity.cfm/
New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. (2003). Achieving the promise: Transforming mental health care in America. Final Report (DHHS Pub. No. SMA-03-3832). Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Patterson, G. R., Reid, J. B., & Dishion, T. J. (1992). Antisocial boys. In J. M. Jenkins & K. Oatley (Eds.), Human emotions: A reader (pp. 330–336). Eugene, OR: Castalia.
Poduska, J., & Kendziora, K. (Spring 2000). Mental health screening and services in the schools: A public health approach. Focal point, A national bulletin on family support and children’s mental health. Center for Effective Collaboration and Practice: Washington, DC.
Poon-McBrayer, K. F., & Garcia, S. B. (2000). Profiles of Asian American students with LD at initial referral, assessment, and placement in special education. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 33(1), 61–71.
Serna, L., Nielsen, E., Lambros, K. M., & Forness, S. (2000). Primary prevention with children at-risk for emotional or behavioral disorders: Data on a universal intervention for head start classrooms. Behavioral Disorders, 26, 70–84.
Shaffer, D., Gould, M. S., Brasic, J., Ambrosini, P., Fisher, P., Bird, H., et al. (1983). A children’s global assessment scale (CGAS). Archives of General Psychiatry, 40, 1228–1231.
Short, R. J., & Talley, R. C. (1997). Rethinking psychology and the schools: Implications of recent national policy. American Psychologist, 52(3), 234–240.
Statacorp. (2001a). STATA Statistical Software (Version 7.0) [Computer software]. College Station, TX: STATA Corporation.
Statacorp. (2001b) Stata reference manual (Vol. 4, p. 101). College Station, TX: STATA Corporation.
Stiffman, A. R., Horwitz, S. M., Hoagwood, K., Compton, W. I., Cottler, L., Bean, D. L., et al. (2000). The Service Assessment for Children and Adolescents (SACA): Adult and child reports. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 39(8), 1032–1039.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (n.d.). Caring for Every Child’s Mental Health Campaign. Retrieved May 29, 2003, from http://www.mentalhealth.org/child/default.asp
Takeuchi, D. T., Bui, K. V. T., & Kim, L. (1993). The referral of minority adolescents to community mental health centers. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 34(2), 153–164.
Tucker, C. M. (2002). Expanding pediatric psychology beyond hospital walls to meet the health care needs of ethnic minority children. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 27, 315–323.
U.S. Department of Education. (2003). Office of safe and drug free schools. Retrieved May 29, 2003, from, http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSDFS/programs.html
U.S. Public Health Service. (2000). Report of the Surgeon General’s conference on children’s mental health: A national action agenda. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
UNOCCAP Work Group. (1996). Service assessment for children and adolescents. Unpublished measure.
Walrath, C. M., Nickerson, K. J., Crowel, R. L., & Leaf, P. J. (1998). Serving children with serious emotional disturbance in a system of care: Do mental health and non-mental health agency referrals look the same. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 6(4), 205–213.
Yeh, M., McCabe, K., Hough, R. L., Dupuis, D., & Hazen, A. (2003). Racial/ethnic differences in parental endorsement of barriers to mental health services for youth. Mental Health Services Research, 5(2), 65–77.
Yeh, M., McCabe, K., Hurlburt, M., Hough, R., Hazen, A., Culver, S., et al. (2002). Referral sources, diagnoses, and service types of youth in public outpatient mental health care: A focus on ethnic minorities. Journal of Behavioral Health Services and Research, 29(1), 45–60.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wood, P.A., Yeh, M., Pan, D. et al. Exploring the Relationship Between Race/Ethnicity, Age of First School-Based Services Utilization, and Age of First Specialty Mental Health Care for At-Risk Youth. Ment Health Serv Res 7, 185–196 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11020-005-5787-0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11020-005-5787-0