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Article
Comprehensive
Human-Edited Health Directory. |
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Social
and economic determinants of disparities in professional
help-seeking |
Social and economic determinants
of disparities in professional help-seeking for child
mental health problems: evidence from a national sample.
Considerable evidence exists that children's mental health
problems are undertreated, with fewer than half and as
few as 11 percent of children who screen positive for
some disorder actually receiving treatment (Zahner et
al. 1992; Cohen and Hesselbart 1993; Leaf et al. 1996;
Costello et al. 1997; Verhulst and van der Ende 1997;
Farmer et al. 1999; Haines et al. 2002).
Undertreatment for mental health problems is especially
tragic, given that depression, attention-deficit, hyperactivity,
and other mental health problems have been shown to interfere
not only with children's current well-being, but also
with educational attainment and future job performance,
and therefore with future psychosocial and economic well-being
(Mannuzza et al. 1997; Velting and Whitehurst 1997, Caspi
et al. 1998; Fergusson and Horwood 1998). The importance
of these problems is heightened by the fact that over
the last 50 years, the trend has been for ever earlier
onset of mental health problems, now reaching well into
childhood (Burvill 1995).
The decisions to seek treatment for children's mental
health issues occur in a peculiar environment, substantively
unlike other health care decisions for children and even
unlike adult mental health treatment decisions. For this
reason, the study of the social and economic determinants
of children's mental health services use is particularly
important. Children's mental health problems may develop
slowly, subtly, or be difficult to distinguish from normal--although
at times difficult--child and adolescent development....You
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