Citation

LeCloux M, Maramaldi P, Thomas K, Wharff E. J. Behav. Health Serv. Res. 2016; 44(2): 195-212.

Affiliation

Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Association of Behavioral Healthcare Management, Publisher Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s11414-016-9509-8

PMID

27146895

Abstract

Developing policies and interventions that increase rates of mental health service use for suicidal adolescents is crucial for suicide prevention. Data from a sample of suicidal youth (n = 1356) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) were analyzed to examine whether type of insurance, receipt of routine medical care, and access to school-based mental health treatment predicted mental health service use cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Rates of mental health service use were low in cross-sectional analyses at all three waves (∼11%-30%), despite the fact that respondents were at high risk for suicide attempts and depression. With demographic factors and symptom severity controlled, only receipt of a routine physical predicted an increased likelihood of mental health service use at wave I and in longitudinal analyses. Implications discussed include the utility of universal suicide screenings and integrated behavioral health care as potential intervention strategies for this population.

Language: en