title: Health Care Resources and Mental Health Service Use Among Suicidal Adolescents.
abstract: Developing policies and interventions that increase rates of mental health service use for suicidal adolescents is crucial for suicide prevention. Data from a sample of suicidal youth (n = 1356) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) were analyzed to examine whether type of insurance, receipt of routine medical care, and access to school-based mental health treatment predicted mental health service use cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Rates of mental health service use were low in cross-sectional analyses at all three waves (∼11%-30%), despite the fact that respondents were at high risk for suicide attempts and depression. With demographic factors and symptom severity controlled, only receipt of a routine physical predicted an increased likelihood of mental health service use at wave I and in longitudinal analyses. Implications discussed include the utility of universal suicide screenings and integrated behavioral health care as potential intervention strategies for this population.
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA. mary.lecloux@mail.wvu.edu.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: LeCloux
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, Simmons College, Boston, MA, USA.|Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.|Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Maramaldi
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, Simmons College, Boston, MA, USA.|Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Kristie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.affiliation: Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.|Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wharff
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012572:School Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D059020:Suicidal Ideation; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology*; D000092864:Suicide Prevention