NCJ Number
242108
Journal
Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 37 Issue: 2-3 Dated: February/March 2013 Pages: 150-159
Date Published
March 2013
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study examined patterns of service use, resilience, and individual and contextual risk factors for adolescents using at least two psychosocial services.
Abstract
The study had several major findings. The study found that youth who had access to more mandated services did not show higher levels of resilience and report higher rates of positive functional, but rather resilience was found to be a mediating factor between risk, service use experience, service use history, and functional outcomes. In addition, while the study found a positive correlation between individual risk and higher levels of service use, no correlation was found between levels of service use and contextual risk. The study also found that service use satisfaction was strongly correlated with resilience. These findings suggest that resilience plays an important role in positive outcomes for youth with complex needs who receive multiple psychosocial services, and that as a whole, the relationship between service use, service use satisfaction, risk factors, resilience, and functional outcomes is a complex relationship is complex in nature. Data for the study were obtained from a sample of youth aged 13-21 (n=497) who were known to have received at least 2 mandated services in a 6-month period from either child welfare and mental health agencies, the juvenile justice system, or the educational system. Participants completed self-report questionnaires dealing with their use of services, individual and contextual risk, resilience, and functional outcomes. Study limitations and implications for policy are discussed. Figure, tables, and references