Measurement of Childhood Serious Emotional Disturbance: State of the Science and Issues for Consideration

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 195-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Ringeisen ◽  
Leyla Stambaugh ◽  
Jonaki Bose ◽  
Cecilia Casanueva ◽  
Sarra Hedden ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Emotional Disturbance ◽  
Expert Panel ◽  
The United States ◽  
Serious Emotional Disturbance ◽  
Block Grants ◽  
Health Services Administration ◽  
Current State ◽  
Prevalence Estimates ◽  
State Of The Science

Surveys suggest that between 4.3% and 11.5% of children living in the United States have a serious emotional disturbance (SED). SED is defined in the Federal Register, and federal block grants are allocated to states based on the prevalence of SED. Accurate measurement of SED is critical, yet surveys have used different methodologies and instrumentation to obtain prevalence estimates. Two expert panels were convened by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in the fall of 2014 to discuss the current state of the field in operationalizing and measuring SED. The aims of this article are to (a) provide an update on SED prevalence rates from survey research, (b) summarize key discussion points that emerged during the SAMHSA expert panel meetings, and (c) make specific recommendations for next steps in measuring the prevalence of SED. Issues addressed in this article are important not only for federal allocation of service dollars to meet the needs of children with SED, but also for broader mental health surveillance efforts within the context of large national research surveys.

scholarly journals Children as Bellwethers of Recovery: Dysfunctional Systems and the Effects of Parents, Households, and Neighborhoods on Serious Emotional Disturbance in Children After Hurricane Katrina

2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (S1) ◽  
pp. S17-S27 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Abramson ◽  
Yoon Soo Park ◽  
Tasha Stehling-Ariza ◽  
Irwin Redlener
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
Emotional Disturbance ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Behavior Disorder ◽  
Family Health ◽  
Serious Emotional Disturbance ◽  
Health Study ◽  
Successful Recovery ◽  
Access To Medical Care

ABSTRACTBackground: Over 160 000 children were displaced from their homes after Hurricane Katrina. Tens of thousands of these children experienced the ongoing chaos and uncertainty of displacement and transiency, as well as significant social disruptions in their lives. The objectives of this study were to estimate the long-term mental health effects of such exposure among children, and to elucidate the systemic pathways through which the disaster effect operates.Methods: The prevalence of serious emotional disturbance was assessed among 283 school-aged children in Louisiana and Mississippi. These children are part of the Gulf Coast Child & Family Health Study, involving a longitudinal cohort of 1079 randomly sampled households in the two states, encompassing a total of 427 children, who have been interviewed in 4 annual waves of data collection since January 2006. The majority of data for this analysis was drawn from the fourth round of data.Results: Although access to medical care for children has expanded considerably since 2005 in the region affected by Hurricane Katrina, more than 37% of children have received a clinical mental health diagnosis of depression, anxiety, or behavior disorder, according to parent reports. Children exposed to Hurricane Katrina were nearly 5 times as likely as a pre-Katrina cohort to exhibit serious emotional disturbance. Path analyses confirm the roles played by neighborhood social disorder, household stressors, and parental limitations on children's emotional and behavioral functioning.Conclusions: Children and youth are particularly vulnerable to the effects of disasters. They have limited capacity to independently mobilize resources to help them adapt to stressful postdisaster circumstances, and are instead dependent upon others to make choices that will influence their household, neighborhood, school, and larger social environment. Children's mental health recovery in a postdisaster setting can serve as a bellwether indicator of successful recovery or as a lagging indicator of system dysfunction and failed recovery.(Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2010;4:S17-S27)

Convergence Mental Health

2021 ◽  
pp. 527-544
Author(s):  
James A Randall ◽  
Cara M. Altimus
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Data Sharing ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Insufficient Data ◽  
Government Institutions ◽  
Current State ◽  
State Of The Science ◽  
Technological Integration ◽  
Precision Health

Precision health arose from a need to treat not just a person’s symptoms retroactively, but a holistic person proactively. Its tenants involve incorporating one’s genome, social, and medical characteristics, in addition to environmental and day-to-day factors in effort to not just treat people, but to keep them healthy. Many of the procedures and technologies in place to foster precision health in the physical medical space may also be extrapolated onto the mental health sphere as well, otherwise known as convergence mental health. This chapter outlines the principles and practices of precision health, including its current state of the science; how private, public, and government institutions may collaborate to foster better preventative mental healthcare; and the barriers and solutions to the universal adoption of precision health/technological integration into mental health-based practices. The four major identified barriers are (i) insufficient scientific evidence; (ii) insufficient data sharing between relevant health partners; (iii) lack of field-wide coordination; and (iv) difficulties with access, including: insurance, providers, and availability of practice.

Mental Health Courts

2019 ◽  
pp. 83-112
Author(s):  
David DeMatteo ◽  
Kirk Heilbrun ◽  
Alice Thornewill ◽  
Shelby Arnold
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Substance Abuse ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mental Health Court ◽  
Drug Courts ◽  
Mental Health Courts ◽  
Current State

This chapter focuses on mental health courts, a problem-solving court that developed in the wake of drug courts to address the needs of offenders with mental health diagnoses or co-occurring mental health and substance abuse concerns. In this chapter, the authors first review the overrepresentation of individuals with mental illness in the criminal justice system. They then describe the history and current state of mental health courts in the United States. The chapter then provides a detailed summary of the research on mental health courts. Although there is considerably less research on mental health courts than on drug courts, the available research provides reason to be cautiously optimistic. Within this discussion, the authors also note the limitations in mental health court research. Finally, the authors conclude the chapter with a discussion of innovative mental health court practices and the future of mental health courts.

scholarly journals Cancer Epidemiology: A Survey of Modifiable Risk Factors for Prevention and Survivorship

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 200-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah Arem ◽  
Erikka Loftfield
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cancer Epidemiology ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Epidemiologic Evidence ◽  
Current State ◽  
Related Risk ◽  
Lifestyle Choices ◽  
State Of The Science ◽  
And Control

Approximately 40% of men and women in the United States will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives. There have been dramatic developments in our understanding of cancer development and progression in recent decades, leading to improvements in screening and treatment, and in turn greater numbers of survivors living longer after diagnosis. Epidemiologic evidence of lifestyle-related factors and cancer risk and survival has been explored extensively in the published literature, with recommendations for cancer prevention and control and strategies for implementation evolving over time. This review summarizes the burden of cancer, general measurement issues in cancer epidemiology, and the current state of the science in specific lifestyle-related risk factors and cancer. It is estimated that one third to one half of cancers could be prevented by healthier lifestyle choices.

Looking Within: An Investigation of Music Education Majors and Mental Health

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 50-61
Author(s):  
Phillip D. Payne ◽  
Wesley Lewis ◽  
Frank McCaskill
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Severe Depression ◽  
The United States ◽  
Music Teacher ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Education Majors ◽  
Credit Hours ◽  
Current State ◽  
Music Education Majors

The primary purpose of this article was to establish the current state of mental health among music education majors. Music education majors across the United States ( N = 1137) self-reported indicators of depression, anxiety, and stress. According to the results, music education majors are highly busy, enrolling in an average of 16.5 credit hours (not including zero-credit courses) and rehearsing 9.75 hours a week; a majority of them also work for an average of 13 to 15 hours a week. Participants reported elevated levels of stress, with 57% exhibiting moderate to severe depression and over 70% exhibiting moderate to severe anxiety. We discuss the findings, provide implications for music teacher education, and share suggestions for future research.

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