Screening for Behavioral and Emotional Risk Versus Traditional School Identification Methods

Systematic screening is one strategy to enhance the early identification of behavioral and emotional problems among youth. Although conceptually sound, it is unclear if screening is more or less effective than current school identification practices in identifying youth with behavioral and emotional concerns. This study compares screening for behavioral and emotional risk with current identification practices in schools to determine differences among referral methods, across a sample of elementary aged students (N = 867). Results indicated that of the 160 students identified as at-risk by the screening measure, only 61 were previously identified through current school identification methods, highlighting the potential benefit of screening to enhance early identification. Results demonstrated internalizing and externalizing behaviors were significantly correlated with at-risk status by identification method. Furthermore, students identified as demonstrating behavioral and emotional concerns by both the screener and receiving school-based services had significantly lower academic achievement. Implications and future research needs are discussed.     

Screening Offenders for Health and Mental Health Problems at Court

Studies of arrestees and court defendants have demonstrated that health and mental health problems are apparent in these groups at higher rates than in the general population. This study examined self-reported physical and mental well-being of 200 participants in a pre-trial support program (Court Integrated Services Program), using the Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12 v2). On entry to the program, clients scored significantly below population norms for mental health, with lower levels of reported mental health related to illicit drug use and reported mental health problems. The SF-12 v2 was also administered to 70 CISP clients immediately prior to program exit and these participants showed a statistically significant improvement in both physical and mental well-being compared with program entry. The criminal justice and public health implications of these and other findings from Australian offender studies are discussed.     

Promoting the Social and Emotional Health of Primary School-Aged Children: Reviewing the Evidence Base for School - Based Interventions

Schools are key settings for promoting the social and emotional health and well-being of children. This study investigated the effectiveness of interventions to improve the social and emotional well-being of primary school-aged children. The protocol development stage of the proposed systematic review identified related and comparable research reviews, indicating a more useful review of reviews. Eight reviews of intervention effectiveness covering 322 primary studies were reviewed. The majority examined classroom-based interventions. Greater effectiveness results from a sustained focus on the promotion of mental health, on self-esteem and coping outcomes within the broad school climate, and on replicating positive impacts rather than the prevention of mental health problems. Conclusions are limited by short duration of studies, lack of detail of interventions, identified outcomes and socio-demographic data, and the relationship between processes and outcomes. This study has clearly shown how crucial carefully designed studies are in understanding strategies with potential to impact on the mental health and well-being of children.     

A Pilot Study Examining a School-Based Parent Engagement Intervention Following School Mental Health Screening

In this pilot study, we conducted a randomized controlled trial to examine the effects of a school-based engagement intervention on parent adherence to recommendations for children screened for social, emotional, behavioral, and adaptive problems at kindergarten entry. The aims were to evaluate the impact of an enhanced feedback session on parents’ adherence to service-engagement recommendations, compared to a standard feedback session, and to examine predictors of adherence to recommendations. Parent and teacher reports of the behavior assessment system for children, second edition, were used to screen children (N = 597). Parents of children identified as at risk for social, emotional, behavioral, and adaptive problems were randomized to the standard or enhanced feedback condition. Results offer preliminary evidence that the school-based engagement strategy following the screening resulted in increased parent adherence to sharing screening results with medical doctors. Analyses also revealed that after controlling for feedback condition, parents’ previous service use predicted adherence to the recommendation of sharing screening results with the teachers. These findings highlight the importance of continued examination of school-based engagement interventions for families in the early stages of seeking mental health services.     

The Juvenile Wellness and Health Survey (JWHS-76): A School Based Screening Instrument for General and Mental Health in High School Students

Existing screening instruments address adolescent health from a pediatric / public health perspective. We developed a school based screening instrument (the JWHS-76) for high schools measuring multiple health related domains from a child psychiatric viewpoint. We studied 1769 students in two suburban high schools (48% girls, mean age 16, predominantly white). Factor analyses revealed five coherent factors: general risk taking, mental health problems, sex related risks, eating and dietary problems, and general health problems. Analyses by gender, age and coping style revealed significant and consistent associations. The JWHS-76 is supported by preliminary evidence as a valid screening instrument in high school.     

私立与公立学校初中生心理健康状况对照研究

目的：探讨私立与公立学校初中生的心理健康状况。方法：用SCL－90量表和自编的定式问卷对230例私方和264例公立初中生进行了调查。结果：私立学校学生SCL－90总分及各因了分均高于公立学校学生，以各因子分≥2界定为存在某种心理异常。私立学校学生异常率为33．04％，高于公立学校学生的12．98％，前者的行为问题高于后者，如同学关系差（32．17％，15．15％），无矿旷课（10％，2．65％），逃学（5．2％，0．04％），违纪（26．96％，5．04％），结论：私立学校学生心理健康状况差，且范围广，值得重视。     

Screening Effects of the National Health Screening Program on Developmental Disorders

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders - As the prevalence of developmental disorders (DDs) has increased, many OECD countries provide a national screening examination for early detection...     

Universal Health Coverage for Schizophrenia: A Global Mental Health Priority

The growing momentum towards a global consensus on universal health coverage, alongside an acknowledgment of the urgency and importance of a comprehensive mental health action plan, offers a unique opportunity for a substantial scale-up of evidence-based interventions and packages of care for a range of mental disorders in all countries. There is a robust evidence base testifying to the effectiveness of drug and psychosocial interventions for people with schizophrenia and to the feasibility, acceptability and cost-effectiveness of the delivery of these interventions through a collaborative care model in low resource settings. While there are a number of barriers to scaling up this evidence, for eg, the finances needed to train and deploy community based workers and the lack of agency for people with schizophrenia, the experiences of some upper middle income countries show that sustained political commitment, allocation of transitional financial resources to develop community services, a commitment to an integrated approach with a strong role for community based institutions and providers, and a progressive realization of coverage are the key ingredients for scale up of services for schizophrenia.     

Effects of School-Based Mental Health Programs on Mental Health Service Use by Adolescents at School and in the Community

Many schools provide counseling to adolescents with behavioral and emotional problems on-site, but little is known about the use of school-based counseling services in the United States, and it is unclear whether these services complement or substitute for counseling services available outside of school. In this study data on mental health services offered in schools are used to estimate the probability of receiving emotional counseling at school and elsewhere. Where mental health services were available on-site, students were substantially more likely to see a counselor in the previous year, controlling for mental health status, health insurance coverage, and other factors. The effects of availability were greater for students enrolled in special education programs than for other students. However, these data also suggest that, relative to other schools, schools offering on-site mental health counseling do not increase or reduce use of counseling services outside of school on average.     

Universal Adolescent Suicide Screening in a Pediatric Urgent Care Center

The aim of this article is to describe the implementation of a 2-question suicide screening tool in a pediatric urgent care center to identify patients at risk of suicide. Adolescents presenting during a 12-month period completed the screening tool. Positive response to either question triggered further social work evaluation, including a Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS). Of 4,786 patients screened, 95 (2%) responded positively. Of these, 75 (79%) also had a positive C-SSRS. Only 7 (7%) had chief complaints related to mental health. A group of 78 patients (82%) were discharged with outpatient mental health referral, and 10 (10%) were admitted to a psychiatric facility. Universal adolescent suicide screening in an acute care setting did not significantly affect flow in our pediatric urgent care and was able to detect patients at risk of suicide, especially those with chief complaints unrelated to mental health.     

Development of the Mental Health Screening Form III

The author played a key role in the creation of the Mental Health Screening Form III (MHSF-III). It is noted that one must understand who will be using a given tool, the setting it will be used, and how the information obtained from it will be used by staff. To meet the needs of clinicians, MHSF-III was required to be short, understandable, inexpensive, and easy to use. The tool is not meant to be diagnostic but rather one which can better screen for possible mental health problems and to effectively refer identified cases.