TY - JOUR
T1 - Mental health problems in young children investigated by U.S. child welfare agencies
AU - McCue Horwitz, Sarah
AU - Hurlburt, Michael S.
AU - Heneghan, Amy
AU - Zhang, Jinjin
AU - Rolls-Reutz, Jennifer
AU - Fisher, Emily
AU - Landsverk, John
AU - Stein, Ruth E.K.
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) award P30-MH074678 (J. L.).
PY - 2012/6
Y1 - 2012/6
N2 - Objective: To examine the prevalence/predictors of mental health (MH) problems and services use in 12- to 36-month-old children who had been investigated for maltreatment. Method: Data came from the second National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW II), a longitudinal study of youth ages 0 to 17.5 years referred to U.S. child welfare agencies. These analyses involved 1117 children 12 to 36 months of age. Sociodemographic, social services, developmental and health data were collected on the children and caregivers. Outcomes were scores over the clinical cutoffs on the Brief Infant Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (BITSEA) Scales for 12- to 18-month-olds and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) for 19- to 36-month-olds. Results: In all, 34.6% of 12 to 18 month-olds scored high on the Problem Scale of the BITSEA, and 20.9% on the Competence Scale, whereas 10.0% of 19- to 36-month-olds scored over the CBCL clinical cut-off. Children of black ethnicity were less likely to have elevated scores on the BITSEA Problem Scale, whereas children who lived with a never-married caregiver were five times more likely to have elevated scores. Competence problems were associated with prior child welfare history. Elevated CBCL scores were associated with living with a depressed caregiver. Few children with identified MH problems, 2.2%, received an MH service. When we added parenting skills training that might be related to the treatment of child problems, 19.2% received a service. Conclusions: Identifiable MH problems are common, but few children receive services for those problems. The lack of services received by these young, multi-challenged children is a services systems and social policy failure.
AB - Objective: To examine the prevalence/predictors of mental health (MH) problems and services use in 12- to 36-month-old children who had been investigated for maltreatment. Method: Data came from the second National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW II), a longitudinal study of youth ages 0 to 17.5 years referred to U.S. child welfare agencies. These analyses involved 1117 children 12 to 36 months of age. Sociodemographic, social services, developmental and health data were collected on the children and caregivers. Outcomes were scores over the clinical cutoffs on the Brief Infant Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (BITSEA) Scales for 12- to 18-month-olds and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) for 19- to 36-month-olds. Results: In all, 34.6% of 12 to 18 month-olds scored high on the Problem Scale of the BITSEA, and 20.9% on the Competence Scale, whereas 10.0% of 19- to 36-month-olds scored over the CBCL clinical cut-off. Children of black ethnicity were less likely to have elevated scores on the BITSEA Problem Scale, whereas children who lived with a never-married caregiver were five times more likely to have elevated scores. Competence problems were associated with prior child welfare history. Elevated CBCL scores were associated with living with a depressed caregiver. Few children with identified MH problems, 2.2%, received an MH service. When we added parenting skills training that might be related to the treatment of child problems, 19.2% received a service. Conclusions: Identifiable MH problems are common, but few children receive services for those problems. The lack of services received by these young, multi-challenged children is a services systems and social policy failure.
KW - child mental health problems
KW - child welfare
KW - mental health services use
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84861607370&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84861607370&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jaac.2012.03.006
DO - 10.1016/j.jaac.2012.03.006
M3 - Article
C2 - 22632617
AN - SCOPUS:84861607370
SN - 0890-8567
VL - 51
SP - 572
EP - 581
JO - Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
JF - Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
IS - 6
ER -