Factors Associated With Service Use for Young Adolescents With Mental Health Problems

The objective of the study wasto identify factors associated with use of services for adolescent mental health problems in an Australian community-based sample. Logistic regression analysis was conducted on data collected from 636 parents and their adolescent child to identify individual and family variables predicting parent report of service use for mental health problems in the adolescent 12 months later. The services most reported by parents to have been accessed were school-based ones. Multivariate analysis found that the following were associated with service use 12 months later: the adolescent being female, parent report of peer problems and hyperactivity, single-parent household, the parent being Australian born, and prior service use by the adolescent. Parental overcontrol was associated with reduced likelihood of service use at follow-up. No association was found between service use at follow-up and parent gender, socioeconomic status, number of siblings, parent psychopathology, family social connectedness, and prior service use by the parent. No association was also found for family environment factors, parental attachment, or for the adolescent’s emotional competence or use of social support. The results indicate that families provide a potential target for interventions aimed at increasing use of professional services for adolescent mental health problems.