| Abstract: | This paper examines how age is related to theuse of formal and informal mental health services,adjustment to current life conditions, and expectationsfor improvement in future life conditions among a group of persons with serious mental illnesses.Interviews with 301 clients of 3 clinics at a publicpsychiatric facility serving West Brooklyn and StatenIsland provide the data from the study. Outcome measures include nine sorts of help receivedfrom informal members of the social network and frommental health professionals; desires to improve currentlife conditions; and expectations for futureimprovements in life conditions. Through hierarchicalregression procedures we examine the impact of age onthese outcomes, with controls for selfreported symptomsand functioning, sex, and the presence of social network members. The results indicate that youngerpeople receive more help from both informal socialnetworks and from mental health professionals. Inaddition, younger people are more likely to wantimprovements in their current life conditions and to beoptimistic about what the future holds for them. Thedecline in informal and formal support, optimism, anddesire to improve their current life situations among older clients may be cause for concern amongmental health professionals. Mental health serviceproviders should give greater recognition to the impactof age on mental health service needs among persons with serious mental illnesses. |
