Use of mental health services among severely emotionally disturbed children and adolescents in San Francisco

Abstract

This study examined the mental health services available to severely emotionally disturbed children and adolescents in San Francisco. Social, familial, developmental, and clinical data---as

Characteristics of Children and Adolescents with Serious Emotional Disturbance in Systems of Care. Part II

“…This compares well with the findings of Barber et al (1992), who reported a mean age of 12 years for boys and 13 years for girls in a community sample, and to the findings of Singh et al (1994), who reported a mean age 14^ JOURNAL OF EMOTIONAL AND of 11.6 years in an inpatient psychiatric hospital sample. However, regional and other factors could be operating with respect to the average age at which services are provided.…”

“…In the present study, boys with SED outnumbered girls with SED by 4:1. This finding is consistent with estimates of the prevalence of SED (Kauffman, 1993) as well as with the findings in studies of children with SED in inpatient psychiatric hospitals (Sinclair, Forness, & Alexon, 1985;Singh et al, 1994) and in community programs (e.g., Barber et al, 1992). It is interesting that Barber et al reported that this ratio decreases with age: They found that the boy to girl ratio changed from 4:1 in preadolescents to 3:2 in adolescents.…”

“…A majority of the children provided with community-based services were boys, a common finding in communitybased programs (e.g., Barber et al, 1992;Epstein et al, 1994Epstein et al, , 1995, as well as in the National Longitudinal Transition study of students with SED (Valdes, Williamson, & Wagner, 1990) and the National Adolescent and Child Treatment Study (Silver et al, 1992). In the present study, boys with SED outnumbered girls with SED by 4:1.…”

“…Further, such data can be used to determine the correlates of service use by children and adolescents with SED. For example, Barber et al (1992) found that being male, having a primary language other than English, and having a history of physical and sexual abuse correlated with repeated psychiatric inpatient hospitalization and high annual rates of change in residential placement for children with SED. Singh et al (1994) found that the characteristics of some children with SED receiving inpatient psychiatric services were such that, at present, their best interests would be served in residential treatment settings.…”

“…For example, Evans, Dollard, and McNulty (1992) investigated the characteristics of youths with SED who either did or did not engage in substance abuse and were in intensive case management. Rosenblatt and Attkisson (1992) described the characteristics of youths with SED who were enrolled in integrated systems of care in three California counties (San Mateo, Santa Cruz, and Riverside), and Barber, Rosenblatt, Harris, and Attkisson (1992) described the sociodemographic correlates of children and adolescents with SED who received mental health services in San Francisco. Singh et al (1994) analyzed the characteristics of children and adolescents with SED who received mental health services in partial hospitalization and inpatient settings.…”