title: Are children improving? Results from outcome measurement in a large mental health system.
abstract: Standardized outcome assessment was implemented in a large county mental health system. This study examines changes in children's emotional and behavioral problems after 6 months of treatment and identifies factors associated with treatment improvement. Results from 3,215 youth indicated that externalizing and internalizing problems significantly decreased from intake to 6 months and that ethnicity, gender, and age were associated with caregiver-reported changes in symptomatology. While there was improvement associated with entry into treatment, the magnitude of symptom reduction was small to medium and not associated with amount of care, providing only limited support for the impact of routine out-patient care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Child & Adolescent Services Research Center at Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego, University of California, San Diego, CA 92123, USA. evtrask@ucsd.edu
authors.forename: Emily V
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Trask
authors.forename: Ann F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Garland
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002140:California; D017028:Caregivers; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D003156:Community Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D010045:Outpatients; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017150:Public Sector; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome