Schools May Help Close Gap to Mental Health Services For Adolescents With Mental Disorders

Washington D.C., May 6, 2013 /3BL Media/ – A study published in the May 2013 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry found that mental health resources provided by schools are significantly associated with whether adolescents with mental disorders receive needed mental health services. In particular, adolescents with disorders attending schools that engage in early identification of emotional problems, are significantly more likely to receive mental health services.

Using data from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A), a group of researchers led by Dr. Jennifer Greif Green, of Boston University’s School of Education, examined data from 4,445 interviews with adolescents aged 13-18 and their parents. Adolescents attended 227 schools where principals and mental health coordinators provided information about school mental health resources. The authors examined the types of mental health resources schools provided (such as, counseling, prevention programs, early identification activities, and collaboration with families) and the ratio of students-to-mental health professionals to predict service use among youth with disorders.

Study findings indicate that fewer than half (45%) of adolescents with a 12-month disorder received mental health services in the past year and the majority of those received services in school (56%). School provision of early identification resources, in particular, was associated with increased likelihood that students with early or mild disorders received services. The ratio of students-to-mental health providers was not significantly associated with whether youth receive mental health services. The authors argue that these findings suggest that the sheer number of mental health service providers in a school may be less important in facilitating initial service contact than the types of mental health resources provided.

Green said of the study, “Schools play a critical role in early identification and referral for adolescents with mental disorders. Our findings support the importance of ensuring that school mental health providers have the time and resources to engage in proactive early identification and outreach activities.”

Green’s collaborators in the study include Ronald C. Kessler of Harvard Medical School and researchers from Children’s Hospital Boston, Cambridge Health Alliance, Duke University, New York University, and Johns Hopkins University.

The article “School Mental Health Resources and Adolescent Mental Health Service Use” by Jennifer Greif Green, Katie A. McLaughlin, Margarita Alegría, E.Jane Costello, Michael J. Gruber, Kimberly Hoagwood, Philip J. Leaf, Serene Olin, Nancy A. Sampson, Ronald C. Kessler, (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2013.03.002) appears in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Volume 52, Issue 5 (May 2013), published by Elsevier.

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Notes for Editors
Full text of the article is available to credentialed journalists upon request; contact Mary Billingsley at +1 202 966 7300 x105 or mbillingsley@jaacap.org. Journalists wishing to interview the authors may contact Jennifer Greif Green at jggreen@bu.edu.

All articles published in JAACAP are embargoed until 3PM ET of the day they are published as corrected proofs online. Articles cannot be publicized as accepted abstracts. Contents of the publication should not be released to or by the media or government agencies before this date.

Funding
This study was partially supported by grants K01-MH085710 (J.G.G.) and K01-MH092526 (K.A.M.) from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), as well as a grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (5RC1MD004588). The National Comorbidity Survey Replication Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A) is supported by the NIMH (U01-MH60220 and R01-MH66627) with supplemental support from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF; grant 044780), and the John W. Alden Trust. The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the authors and should not be construed to represent the views of any of the sponsoring organizations, agencies, or U.S. Government. A complete list of NCS-A publications can be found at http://www.hcp.med.harvard.edu/ncs. Send correspondence to ncs@hcp.med.harvard.edu. The NCS-A is carried out in conjunction with the World Health Organization World Mental Health (WMH) Survey Initiative. The WMH Data Coordination Centres have received support from NIMH (R01-MH070884, R13-MH066849, R01-MH069864, R01-MH077883), NIDA (R01-DA016558), the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health (FIRCA R03-TW006481), the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Pfizer Foundation, and the Pan American Health Organization. The WMH Data Coordination Centres have also received unrestricted educational grants from Astra Zeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and Co., GlaxoSmithKline, Ortho-McNeil, Pfizer, Sanofi-Aventis, and Wyeth. A complete list of WMH publications can be found at http://www.hcp.med.harvard.edu/wmh/.

About JAACAP
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP) is the official publication of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. JAACAP is the leading journal focusing exclusively on today's psychiatric research and treatment of the child and adolescent. Published twelve times per year, each issue is committed to its mission of advancing the science of pediatric mental health and promoting the care of youth and their families. www.jaacap.com/

The journal's purpose is to advance research, clinical practice, and theory in child and adolescent psychiatry. It is interested in manuscripts from diverse viewpoints, including genetic, epidemiological, neurobiological, cognitive, behavioral, psychodynamic, social, cultural, and economic. Studies of diagnostic reliability and validity, psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacological treatment efficacy, and mental health services effectiveness are encouraged. The journal also seeks to promote the well-being of children and families by publishing scholarly papers on such subjects as health policy, legislation, advocacy, culture and society, and service provision as they pertain to the mental health of children and families.

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Media contact
Mary Billingsley
JAACAP Editorial Office
+1 202 966 7300 x105
mbillingsley@jaacap.org