Describing the population of adolescents served in systems of care

Cluster analysis was conducted to examine clinical characteristics of 10- t o 19-year-old boys (N = 1,961) and girls (N = 1,320) with serious emotional disturbance entering systems of care funded by the Center for Mental Healt h Services. Subscale scores from intake assessment using the Child and Adol escent Functional Assessment Scale and the Child Behavior Checklist were in cluded in the cluster analyses to determine whether adolescents could be gr ouped into identifiable patterns based on functional and behavioral charact eristics. Three clusters were identified for each gender. Clusters differed in the severity of subscale scores across boys and girls; however, unique characteristics of clusters were most apparent when both functional and beh avioral profiles were examined. Demographic and clinical characteristics we re compared across clusters to further explore characteristics of these gro ups. The authors make recommendations for future research on adolescents en tering community-based system-of-care services.