Use of the Family Resource Scale in Children’s Mental Health: Reliability and Validity among Economically Diverse Samples

The adequacy of a family’s resources has implications for child and family service processes and outcomes. The field needs tools to assess resources in a manner relevant to children’s services research. The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of the FRS among families caring for children who are receiving mental health services and to compare its measurement quality across samples that differ on economic variables. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported similar factor structures across samples, and internal consistency was equivalent. Findings from the regression analyses provided evidence of construct validity for the FRS. Overall, findings indicated that the FRS holds promise as a reliable and valid tool for assessing perceived adequacy of concrete resources among economically diverse families of children with emotional and behavioral disorders. However, the FRS could benefit from some refinements; those recommendations are discussed.     

Are Mental Health,Family and Childhood Adversity,Substance Use and Conduct Problems Risk Factors for Offending in Autism?

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders - Mental health difficulties, family and childhood adversity factors, substance use and conduct problems have all been linked to offending behaviour in...     

Treating Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders in Adolescents: What Is on the Menu?

Specific treatments targeting adolescents with substance use disorders (SUDs) have been developed over the last couple of decades. Despite these developmentally tailored treatments, long-term abstinence rates remain relatively low among adolescents receiving care. Research over the last decade has increasingly focused on adolescents with comorbid substance use and psychiatric disorders, in recognition of the barriers caused by inadequate treatment of co-occurring psychiatric disorders. Treatments targeting dually diagnosed youth are now regarded as essential to improving SUD treatment outcomes, but remain underutilized. A variety of treatment modalities such as behavioral therapy, family therapy, 12-step groups, motivational interviewing, contingency management, and combinations of these interventions have been modified for adolescents. In this article, we review the research on these treatments, as they apply to dually diagnosed youth. Furthermore, we explore the evidence for various treatments targeting comorbid SUD, specific to the presence of externalizing or internalizing disorders. The current evidence base supports the importance of integrated treatment targeting both SUD and psychiatric disorders simultaneously. High-quality treatment programs offering combinations of behavioral and family therapy, particularly with motivational interviewing and contingency management, are particularly well supported. In addition, we review various psychotropic medication treatments that have also been studied in conjunction with adolescent SUD treatment. Finally, we review research on post-treatment, supportive care that has been shown to improve long-term SUD outcomes. Recently conceptualized modular treatments, which offer personalized combinations of evidence-based treatments for specific disorders, have been proposed as a means of improving outcomes. Future research on modular programs must test the efficacy of individualized treatments when applied to combinations of psychiatric and SUDs in adolescents.     

Towards Promoting Youth Mental Health in Aotearoa/New Zealand: Holistic ‘Houses’ of Health

A study of the literature on mental health promotion suggests that to a far greater extent than ‘physical’ health concerns, mental health seems to be dominated by the illness focus of established clinical perspectives and practices. In Aotearoa/New Zealand this leaves little in the way of conceptual space or fiscal resources for the development of new preventative possibilities of population-oriented measures focused on enhancing social and physical environments. Outflanking this unfortunate impasse, indigenous Maori and Samoan (Pacific) conceptual frameworks for health offer holistic theoretical foundations upon which we can work for health through positive development. This paper examines these frameworks and the youth development paradigm to draw out parameters of what might count as healthy youth development in this country.     

“Mental Health Is for Crazy People”: Perceptions and Barriers to Mental Health Service Use among Refugees from Burma

Community Mental Health Journal - Good mental health is essential to successful integration for refugee populations that resettle in the U.S. We explored perceptions of mental illnesses and...     

Family Advocacy, Support and Education in Children’s Mental Health: Results of a National Survey

In conjunction with the national survey of mental health service organizations (Schoenwald et al. this issue), a separate but complementary national survey was conducted of family advocacy, support and education organizations (FASEOs). Directors of FASEOs within the same localities as the mental health agencies responded to a survey and provided information in four areas: (1) structure and funding; (2) factors influencing advocacy decisions about children’s mental health; (3) types of services provided by FASEOs and factors perceived as related to improved outcomes; and (4) the types of working relationships between FASEOs and local mental health clinics. Findings from a total of 226 (82% response rate) portray a network of family advocacy, support and education organizations that are strategically poised to effect substantive change and characterized by significant fiscal instability. Results from this survey and implications for delivery of family-based services are provided. The Research Network on Youth Mental Health is a collaborative network funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Network Members at the time this work was performed included: John Weisz, Ph.D. (Network Director), Bruce Chorpita, Ph.D., Robert Gibbons, Ph.D., Charles Glisson, Ph.D., Evelyn Polk Green, M.A., Kimberly Hoagwood, Ph.D., Peter S. Jensen, M.D., Kelly Kelleher, M.D., John Landsverk, Ph.D., Stephen Mayberg, Ph.D., Jeanne Miranda, Ph.D., Lawrence Palinkas, Ph.D., Sonja Schoenwald, Ph.D.     

The Effective Family Programme II: Clinicians’ Experiences of Training in Promotive and Preventative Child Mental Health Methods

Mental health clinicians were trained to master interventions and to become trainers for promotion of development and prevention of mental health problems in children with mentally ill parents, as part of the Effective Family Programme. The trainees’ experiences of the impact of the training on their professional skills and work satisfaction, on one hand, and implementation of the methods, on the other, were examined. The data was collected by a questionnaire. The 30 respondents (response rate 83%) reported an increase in their professional skills as well as in work-related joy and motivation. Most of them had trained others, and implementation of the new working methods had started. The success factors of the Effective Family training for first phase of the implementation are discussed.     

Community and School Mental Health Professionals’ Knowledge and Use of Evidence Based Substance Use Prevention Programs

Youth with learning and behavioral problems are at elevated risk for substance use during adolescence. Although evidence-based substance use prevention and screening practices are described in the literature, the extent with which these are provided to these youth is unclear. Mental health professionals in schools and community mental health centers are in an ideal position to conduct substance use screening and prevention practices since they have frequent contact with this high risk group. In order to determine whether these mental health professionals were using evidence based substance use screening and prevention programs with these youth, we analyzed 345 completed surveys from mental health professionals in schools and community clinics throughout a mid-Atlantic state. Results indicated that a large portion of the respondents were unfamiliar with evidence based practices and they were infrequently used. Implications for the division of labor at schools and community mental health centers are discussed in relation to time allotment and priority for these procedures.     

Economically Disadvantaged Adolescents’ Self-Concept and Academic Achievement as Mediators between Family Cohesion and Mental Health in Taiwan

The study aims to examine whether social self-concept, physical appearance self-concept, and academic achievement mediate the relationship between family cohesion (FC) and mental health (MH) by employing structural equation modeling. The nationally representative sample consisted of 902 Taiwanese junior high school students from poor families. The mediation effect of changes in self-concept and academic achievement in the association between changes in FC and MH is also tested. Findings show that the effect of family cohesion on MH is partially mediated by both social self-concept and academic achievement, whereas a mediation effect of changes in achievement in the association between changes in FC and MH is insignificant. These results deepen the understanding of the relationship between FC, academic achievement, and MH for the poor adolescents in Confucian culture. Findings also suggest that improvements in the family relationship quality and appearance self-concept may protect against deteriorated MH problems in this developmental period.     

The COVID PIVOT – Re-orienting Child and Youth Mental Health Care in the Light of Pandemic Restrictions

Psychiatric Quarterly - The COVID pandemic required significant changes in the provision of youth mental health services during the period of lockdown/stay at home orders. Things which were...     

Evaluating Project Connect: Improving Juvenile Probationers’ Mental Health and Substance Use Service Access

Project Connect is a multilayered county-specific program aimed at linking juvenile probationers to needed mental health and substance use services. In four NY counties, the intervention included cooperative agreements between probation and mental health authorities, program materials to facilitate referral, in-service training for probation officers, and systematic screening for mental health needs. Charts for 583 Baseline youths were reviewed and compared with 594 youths undergoing intake under Project Connect. Compared to Baseline, under Project Connect, referred youths were 2.7 times as likely to access services, regardless of youth or county characteristics, service availability, or when the intervention took place.     

“Straight Up”: Enhancing Rapport and Therapeutic Alliance with Previously-Detained Youth in the Delivery of Mental Health Services

A strong therapeutic alliance has been shown to improve mental health treatment outcomes in adults, but this topic has not been fully explored with youth. Adolescents, particularly justice-involved youth, stand to benefit greatly from an improved treatment experience. One quality which can improve treatment is mental health providers’ interpersonal skills when attempting to build a therapeutic rapport with adolescent clients. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 youth who screened positive for mental health concerns while in juvenile detention. Four themes were identified as important to improving the therapeutic alliance: Empathy, client-directed care, sequencing, and positive rapport. Suggestions for strengthening a therapeutic alliance are provided.