Perception of need and barriers to access: the mental health needs of young people attending a Youth Offending Team in the UK

Abstract

This study used a mixed methodology with young offenders attending a Youth Offending Service to identify, with regard to mental health problems, perceptions of level of need, experiences of and views on support and perceptions of barriers in accessing services. Between May and September 2008, 44 young offenders completed a questionnaire about their self-reported levels of mental health need, and their behaviour, preferences and evaluation regarding different sources of support and advice for mental health issues. Six young people were interviewed about their experiences and these data were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings showed that these vulnerable young people had a high level of mental health need, and were most likely to seek support from people with whom they had a confiding and long-standing relationship (parents and friends). For these young people, low levels of service use were not the result of a lack of provision, but because there were psychological, social, structural and cultural barriers to accessing those services including issues of understanding, stigma and confidentiality.

Young people's views of UK mental health services

“…Five studied the general population of young people in the community, with a combined number of 4213 participants, and four recruited a total of 8757 participants through schools. Two further studies focused on clients of a Youth Offending Team and an assertive outreach service for young offenders, respectively . Overall, 625 participants from 22 studies had some experience of mental health services, and 12 990 participants from 10 studies were from schools or the general population, and are assumed to have no experience of mental health services.…”

Self-reported Barriers to Treatment Engagement: Adolescent Perspectives from the National Comorbidity Survey-Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A)

“…Previous studies that have collected youth self-reports on treatment barriers are limited in the sense that their data was not generalizable (Wisdom et al 2011;Walsh et al 2011). These studies drew upon samples from specific communities or institutions, therefore limiting the application of their results to the youth in those specific geographical areas.…”

Access to social services as a rite of integration: Power, rights, and identity

“…At the same time, maybe because of the complexity of the theme, the literature on access is dispersed, often linked to other issues (Minas, ): access has been mostly theorized in connection to specific social problems (Cortis, ) or target groups (e.g., elderly people) or to components of accessibility (Geurs & Ritsema Van Eck, ). On a general level, literature about access to social services is seen from the perspective of theoretical considerations about civil rights (Rummery & Glendinning, ), justice (Clarke, ; O Brian, ), resources, needs, and barriers (Ellis, Davis, & Rummery, ; Walsh, Scaife, Notley, Dodsworth, & Schofield, ) or adopting a general focus on social services organization. Access is also treated as one alongside many other issues in researches with a wider focus on social services functioning.…”