Parents' perceptions of benefit of children's mental health treatment and continued use of services.
OBJECTIVE
The authors examined the association of demographic and clinical characteristics, family history, and type of treatment among children receiving outpatient mental health services and parents' perception of treatment benefit. They also examined whether perceived benefit was related to continued use of services at six-month follow-up.


METHODS
Parents of children age six to 12 years who were first-time patients at one of nine clinics participating in the Longitudinal Assessment of Manic Symptoms (LAMS) study completed the Parent General Behavior Inventory Ten-Item Mania Scale. Parents of children with scores of 12 or higher (N=1,124) were invited to participate in a follow-up study, and 621 agreed. During baseline assessment after the first outpatient visit and at six-month follow-up, the parents were asked about children's sociodemographic and diagnostic characteristics and use of services and asked to rate how much their children had benefited from the most recent outpatient treatment.


RESULTS
Data were available for 573 children. At baseline, parents of 167 (29%) children reported that the treatment provided a lot of benefit, and perceived benefit was related to receiving medication (with or without therapy) versus just therapy, higher scores on functioning, LAMS site, no history of comorbid diagnoses, living with both biological parents, and having no parents or siblings with a prior hospitalization for a psychiatric illness. At six-month follow-up, perceived benefit was related to continued use of services (p<.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Medication with or without therapy was perceived as more beneficial than therapy alone. Perceived benefit was strongly related to continued use of treatment.
Department of Pediatrics and the Center for Health Policy, Stanford University, 117 Encina Commons, MC 6019, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. horwitz@stanford.edu
Sarah
S
Horwitz
Christine
C
Demeter
Margaret
M
Hayden
Amy
A
Storfer-Isser
Thomas W
TW
Frazier
Mary A
MA
Fristad
L Eugene
LE
Arnold
Eric A
EA
Youngstrom
Boris
B
Birmaher
David
D
Axelson
Robert L
RL
Findling
D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003258:Consumer Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004358:Drug Therapy / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010465:Perception; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data