Date of Award

2007

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Program

Psychology

Supervisor

Dr. Graham Reid

Second Advisor

Dr. Richard Neufeld

Third Advisor

Dr. Leora Swartzman

Abstract

In order to better understand what happens once a parent contacts a children’s mental health centre for help with their child’s psychosocial problems, the current study examined predisposing, need, and enabling/inhibiting factors associated with (1) a pattern of contacting multiple agencies/professionals (high-volume) versus one agency and (2) a simultaneous (overlapping) versus sequential pattern of involvement with multiple agencies/professionals. The strongest predictor of a high-volume help-seeking pattern was parent history of mental health service use. Other significant predictors were lower parental depression and residing in an area with ten or more child serving agencies. The simultaneous agency involvement pattern was associated with more severe child internalizing problems. Both models were validated using bootstrap resampling. Further analyses explored system-level (i.e., service availability) and individual-level (i.e., uptake) correlates of these patterns in the context of Ontario’s children’s mental health system. Implications for service delivery in the children’s mental health system are discussed.

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