Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Degree

Master of Science

Program

Psychology

Supervisor

Dr. Graham Reid

Abstract

Children and youth frequently receive services for mental health issues from multiple service sectors but little is known about the rates of multi-sector involvement over time. Thus, the prevalence of multi-sector service use for children in contact with Ontario mental health agencies, and the influence of demographic, familial, and need variables on child multi-sector involvement, were examined. Secondary data analyses were performed on chart reviews of clients (N=355; 67% boys; ages 4 to 13) from six mental health agencies. Approximately two-thirds of clients had multi-sector involvement. In cross-sectional analyses, risk factors predicted increased likelihood of multi-sector involvement, whereas protective factors predicted decreased likelihood. In longitudinal analyses, increased risk/need at time 1 did not predict likelihood of multi-sector involvement at time 2. Ensuring a match between a client’s degree of need and services used may prevent misallocation of mental health resources.

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