Social and demographic predictors of parental consultation for child psychological difficulties.
BACKGROUND
Results from previous studies examining determinants of parental consultation for child mental health provide inconsistent evidence concerning socio-demographic predictors. The aim of this study is to identify the sociodemographic predictors of parental consultation for child psychological difficulties.


METHODS
An epidemiological cross-sectional analysis was carried out using a sample of 5,913 children aged between 4 and 15 years from the Health Survey for England. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was the measure of child psychological morbidity.


RESULTS
Parents of children with psychological difficulties were less likely to seek a consultation if their child was a girl, as household income decreased or if the head of household came from manual social class. In contrast, parents were more likely to seek a consultation if they were in receipt of a benefit than if they were not in receipt of a benefit. Age of child and family type did not predict parental consultation.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of this analysis confirm that a substantial proportion of children with mental health difficulties in the general population (42 per cent) have not been seen by a professional, and these are likely to be girls and children in low-income families, indicating a significant unmet need for services across the nation. These results suggest that parents and health professionals should be made more aware of the symptoms of psychological problems in girls and that services need to be planned in a way that improves uptake by low-income parents.
Haines
Mary M
MM
Department of Psychiatry, St. Bartholomew's and The Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary College, University London, London E1 4NS. mary.haines@au.pwcglobal.com
McMunn
Anne
A
Nazroo
James Y
JY
Kelly
Yvonne J
YJ
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003710:Demography; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005544:Forecasting; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002666:Psychology, Child; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires