NCJ Number
212499
Journal
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Volume: 44 Issue: 12 Dated: December 2005 Pages: 1292-1300
Date Published
December 2005
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This study investigated the process of help-seeking for child psychopathology in both professional and informal service settings in the Netherlands.
Abstract
The pathway that leads to professional mental health care for children with psychopathology is paved with obstacles, causing a discrepancy between the number of disordered children in the community and those receiving professional care. This study attempted to combine several existing help-seeking models and findings on determinants of help-seeking into one comprehensive model, then tested this model to provide insight into the influence of several determinants on stages of the help-seeking process and clarify the way in which the help-seeking stages influenced one another. It attempted to describe the process of help-seeking for child psychopathology in professional and informal service settings. Study participants consisted of 246 Dutch children, ages 4 to 11 years between April 2000 and July 2002. Structural equation modeling proved to be a fruitful method for concurrently testing associations between various stages in the help-seeking process and their hypothesized determinants. School personnel played an important role in the process of help-seeking for child psychopathology, in both detecting service need and the provision of and the referral for help. In addition, various family characteristics were shown to influence service need and informal or professional help-seeking. Tables, references