Who stays in treatment? Child and family predictors of youth client retention in a public mental health agency. In Child & youth care forum
Date
2008
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Publisher
Springer US.
Abstract
The present study examined possible predictors of youth client retention in therapy in a large
community-based sample. We used several conceptualizations of retention, including (a) “intake
retention” (i.e., returned to treatment after intake session); (b) “mutual termination” (i.e., termination
agreed upon by family and therapist), (c) “mean treatment duration” (i.e., completing the mean
number of sessions in the agency), and (d) “total treatment duration” (i.e., total number of sessions).
Archival data from over 400 children and adolescents who sought treatment at a large public mental
health clinic were analyzed using regression analyses. Although different predictors were identified
across the various conceptualizations, a few robust predictors emerged including ethnicity and client
symptom severity. Clinical implications and future research directions are discussed.
Description
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Keywords
adolescents, treatment, attrition, mental health services, research
Citation
Miller, L. M., Southam-Gerow, M. A., & Allin, R. B. (2008, August). Who stays in treatment? Child and family predictors of youth client retention in a public mental health agency. In Child & youth care forum (Vol. 37, No. 4, pp. 153-170). Springer US.