Diagnostic Profiles Among Urban Adolescents With Unmet Treatment Needs

Abstract

The goal of this study was to document comorbidity profiles of psychiatric disorder and perceived need for treatment among urban adolescents with unmet behavioral health needs. Participants were 303 community-referred adolescents and their primary caregivers. Adolescents included both boys (54%) and girls and were primarily Hispanic (58%), African American (23%), and multiracial (13%). Home-based interviews with both adolescents and caregivers were used to assess DSM-IV diagnoses and perceived treatment needs. Most adolescents (80%) were diagnosed with multiple disorders and most families (66%) reported a need to treat more than one disorder. Latent class analysis of endorsed DSM-IV disorders identified five distinct diagnostic profiles: Parental Concern, Adolescent Distress, Basic Externalizers, Severely Distressed, and Comorbid Externalizers. Diagnostic profiles were compared on perceived treatment need and related psychosocial risk characteristics. Implications for behavioral health care policy and practice for youth with unmet treatment needs are discussed.

Assessing fidelity to evidence-based practices in usual care: The example of family therapy for adolescent behavior problems

“…Participants in this study were part of a larger randomized field trial designed to identify adolescents with untreated behavioral health problems, enroll them in available outpatient treatment services, and assess treatment effects up to one year later (see Hogue & Dauber, in press). Research staff developed a referral network of high schools, family service agencies, and youth programs serving clients in inner-city areas of a large northeastern city.…”

Perceived Need for Treatment and Engagement in Mental Health Services Among Community-Referred Racial/Ethnic Minority Adolescents

“…From the larger trial ( N = 205), 18 families were not included due to missing data on some or all of the outcome variables. Participating families experienced high levels of systems involvement and high rates of behavioral health problems with substantial comorbidity (Dauber & Hogue, 2011; Hogue & Dauber, 2011). Adolescent and family demographic characteristics, including youth psychiatric diagnoses, are presented in Table 1.…”

Examining Effectiveness of Group Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Externalizing and Internalizing Disorders in Urban Schools

“…A different but also important challenge in implementing EBIs in underresourced urban schools is the difficulty associated with providing services to children with multiple comorbidities. Indeed, the presence of multiple comorbidities among low-income urban children in need of mental health services is the norm rather than the exception (Garland et al, 2001; Hogue & Dauber, 2013). An important task for school mental health researchers is to determine the effectiveness of EBIs for treating target disorders as well as comorbid disorders within the externalizing and internalizing spectrum.…”