This study was designed to further understand the psychosocial functioning of youth with chronic health conditions or physical disabilities, their need for and use of mental health services, and possible barriers to receiving needed services. Previous research has suggested these youth experience poorer psychosocial functioning compared
to peers without special health care needs, and they also underutilize needed mental health services. A mixed-methods design was implemented consisting of a quantitative parent survey and a qualitative semistructured interview with young adults with special
health care needs.
Children demonstrating poorer psychosocial adjustment in this study experienced more problems related to social functioning than psychopathology (e.g., depression, anxiety). Over half of the youth had accessed mental health services with the majority utilizing community-based outpatient services. Identified barriers to accessing needed mental health services included difficulty finding professionals with experience in working with youth with special health care needs and lack of financial coverage.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UTAHS/oai:digitalcommons.usu.edu:etd-1352 |
| Date | 01 May 2009 |
| Creators | Hunt, Sara M |
| Publisher | DigitalCommons@USU |
| Source Sets | Utah State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | All Graduate Theses and Dissertations |
| Rights | Copyright for this work is held by the author. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For more information contact Andrew Wesolek (andrew.wesolek@usu.edu). |
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