NCJ Number
162976
Date Published
Unknown
Length
39 pages
Annotation
As part of the Denver Youth Survey, this investigation sought to identify children and adolescents with problem behavior, to examine help-seeking patterns and social supports of young people's caretakers, to analyze demographic differences between youth with and without problem behavior and between caretakers who requested help for their children, and to describe caretaker ratings of the helpfulness of each utilized resource.
Abstract
Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 1,270 caretakers in at-risk Denver neighborhoods. Demographic information on caretakers and data on mental health service utilization by caretakers were obtained. Problem behavior in children was identified by 14.9 percent of the caretaker sample. While more than 20 percent of the total sample sought help for their children, almost 40 percent of caretakers who had children with problem behavior sought help. Caretakers requested help at least once or more from various sources (from high to low frequency--schools, friends or relatives, and private and agency professionals). Help was requested most often for behavioral and school problems. Caretakers who had children with problem behavior requested help more often than caretakers whose children did not exhibit behavioral problems. In addition, caretakers with social support asked for more help than those without social support. Policy implications of the findings for child and adolescent mental health resources are discussed. 14 references and 10 tables