Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Degree

Master of Arts

Program

Education

Supervisor

Dr. Shannon Stewart

Abstract

Children/youth with a history of maltreatment experience a variety of different developmental, psychiatric and health problems and ensuring there is streamline access to services is imperative to their recovery. Yet, there are few reports of standardized methods for directing and prioritizing risk for children seeking services. The current study,utilizingretrospective data collected from theinterRAIChild and Youth Mental Health Screener (ChYMH-S), aimed to address this gap and explore the relationship between childhood maltreatment and mental health screening outcomes. A sample of 4-18-year-olds (N= 19,645) was studied to explore how differences in maltreatment history, gender, and legal guardianship impacted service prioritization. The findings suggest children/youth who are exposed to some form of interpersonal trauma are more likely to have mental health issues requiring urgent follow-up service. Findings also reveal that gender and legal guardianship impact service urgency. Discussion investigates implications to policy and clinical practice, along with suggestions for future research.

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