The proposed project will provide broad training in mental health services research, with a focus on delivery of culturally effective services to Latino children and families. Substantial literature documents that Latino adults underutilize mental health services despite a need for services that is as great or greater than that of Caucasians. However, we have little information about whether or not the delivery of mental health services to Latino children parallels this pattern. Further, Latinos appear to be most likely to underutilize outpatient mental health services as opposed to other types of services, such as inpatient mental health. Little is known about barriers to access to outpatient services and the client and therapist factors that contribute to treatment attendance and outcome in an outpatient selling. The proposed research has the following aims:
Aim 1 : To closely examine barriers to access to services for Latino children with mental health problems. This will be accomplished by interviewing a subsample of Latino families who have children with clinically significant levels of psychological symptomotology and who have or have not sought mental health services, in order to identify barriers to service utilization.
Aim 2 : Given that specialty outpatient mental health services appear to be the service most underutilized by Latino adults, a pilot study will be conducted to closely examine variables that affect treatment attendance and outcomes for children who seek specialty outpatient mental health services. This will be accomplished through collaboration with Children's Outpatient Psychiatry, a community mental health center that serves a large Latino population.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Postdoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (F32)
Project #
5F32MH011992-02
Application #
2890046
Study Section
Services Research Review Committee (SER)
Program Officer
Hoagwood, Kimberly E
Project Start
1999-07-01
Project End
Budget Start
1999-07-01
Budget End
2000-06-30
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
1999
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Children's Hospital & Res Ctr at Oakland
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
San Diego
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
92123
Yeh, May; McCabe, Kristen; Hurlburt, Michael et al. (2002) Referral sources, diagnoses, and service types of youth in public outpatient mental health care: a focus on ethnic minorities. J Behav Health Serv Res 29:45-60
Hough, Richard L; Hazen, Andrea L; Soriano, Fernando I et al. (2002) Mental health services for Latino adolescents with psychiatric disorders. Psychiatr Serv 53:1556-62
McCabe, K M; Hough, R; Wood, P A et al. (2001) Childhood and adolescent onset conduct disorder: a test of the developmental taxonomy. J Abnorm Child Psychol 29:305-16