Perceived Need for Treatment and Engagement in Mental Health Services Among Community-Referred Racial/Ethnic Minority Adolescents

Abstract

This study examines clinical and family predictors of perceived need for treatment and engagement in mental health treatment services among community-referred racial/ethnic minority adolescents and their primary caregivers. Findings indicated that the majority of families perceived a need for treatment, but that perceived need was not associated with treatment engagement. Family factors (i.e., low cohesion and high conflict within the family) predicted perceived need for treatment among adolescents, whereas clinical factors (i.e., adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptomatology) predicted caregiver perceived need for adolescent treatment. Neither clinical nor family factors predicted treatment engagement.

Administration and Policy in Mental Health. 2018 Sep. doi: 10.1007/s10488-018-0863-0.