Thesis Format
Monograph
Degree
Master of Arts
Program
Education
Supervisor
Stewart, Shannon
Abstract
Objective: Service complexity refers to the intensity of services an individual needs, influenced by mental health and psychosocial factors. Anxiety is a prevalent mental health condition affecting youth. This study examined the relationship between anxiety and other risk factors—family functioning and interpersonal trauma and polyvictimization—with service complexity while controlling for age and sex. Method: A secondary analysis was conducted using data obtained from interRAI Child and Youth Mental Health (ChYMH) assessments from Canadian mental health agencies. The sample was comprised of 26,800 youth aged 4–18 years old, who were assessed by trained professionals. Results: Higher anxiety, family functioning concerns, and interpersonal trauma were all associated with increased service complexity. Conclusion: The findings of this study highlight the importance of addressing mental health, family, social and service variables when examining mental health utilization across multiple care settings.
Summary for Lay Audience
Many children, youth and their families rely on various services to help with their needs. These services can include healthcare systems, counselling, and community supports. However, some children and youth require more complex services due to various factors related to their needs. Factors can include psychological, social, and physiological influences. Despite this, the association between anxiety and other relevant risk factors and service complexity are not well understood in the literature. This study aimed to address that gap by looking at how anxiety, and other risk factors such as family functioning and experiences of interpersonal trauma, are associated with children and youths’ complexity of services.
The findings show that children and youth with higher anxiety tend to have more complex service needs, possibly because anxiety can challenge their daily life and ability to seek help. Similarly, children and youth who had lower family supports were more likely to need complex services, suggesting that having a supportive family can help individuals navigate challenges more effectively. Finally, older age and the female sex were related to higher odds of service complexity compared to their counterparts.
These results have practical implications for mental health service providers, as it highlights the importance of improving mental health care, strengthening family support, reducing exposure to trauma and offering trauma-informed mental health interventions to aid in reducing service complexity.
Recommended Citation
Cannella, Olivia, "Anxiety and Family Functioning: An Examination of Factors Associated with Mental Health Service Complexity for Clinically Referred Children and Youth" (2025). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 10772.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/10772
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