ADOLESCENTS AND PROVIDERS PERSPECTIVES ON THE NEED FOR AND USE OF MENTAL-HEALTH-SERVICES

Purpose: This study examines need for and use of services from both th e adolescent's and the service provider's viewpoints. Methods: The You th Services Project interviewed 792 youths from the juvenile justice, education, primary health care, and child welfare sectors (200 each); gathered anonymous tallies of the mental health of youthful clients at each sector; and conducted focus groups with providers. Results: A hi gh percentage of youths (12-15%) met DSM-IV criteria for a mental heal th disorder, yet the sector clients were not identified as having ment al health problems. Juvenile justice and child welfare sectors identif ied the highest percentage of adolescent clients as having mental heal th problems, and provided the most services (50-80%). The primary heal th care sector recorded no mental health disorders among the tallied c lients, and provided the fewest mental health services (<20%). Provide rs' complaints that they lacked knowledge concerning mental health ass essment and lacked referral or treatment resources closely paralleled the degree to which their sector underserviced youths. Conclusion: Lac k of knowledge about the extent of need in adolescents, methods for as sessing or treating, and referral resources handicap service providers and explain the gap between need and service. (C) Society for Adolesc ent Medicine, 1997.