ERIC Number: ED445459
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1999-Feb
Pages: 5
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
An Empirical Typology of Children with Severe Emotional Disturbances.
Fields, Scott A.; Ogles, Benjamin M.
This report discusses the outcomes of a study that used cluster analysis to identify groups/clusters of children (n=158) with severe emotional disturbances receiving services at a rural, mental health center in Southeastern Ohio. Extensive data were gathered at intake that included information regarding child and family characteristics and the child's presenting problem. Within this large amount of data, numerous "yes" or "no" survey questions for the parent or guardian of a child were used to assess risk factors. Eight questions were selected due to their perceived salience in predicting subsequent child functioning and mental health service utilization. The selected questions asked if the child had ever been arrested, hospitalized for psychiatric purposes, sexually abused, or physically abused. Questions also asked whether a child had been a sex perpetrator, run away from home, used drugs or alcohol, or attempted suicide. Five groups of children were identified using the eight risk factors present at intake. The groups were labeled physically abused, high runaway risk, high delinquent risk, low risk, and sexually abused. Not only were the groups different in terms of their initial risk factor presentation, but also groups differed in terms of their level of functioning. (CR)
Descriptors: Child Abuse, Children, Classification, Cluster Analysis, Coping, Delinquency, Emotional Disturbances, Mental Disorders, Mental Health Clinics, Predictor Variables, Questionnaires, Runaways, Rural Areas, Sexual Abuse, Substance Abuse, Symptoms (Individual Disorders)
For full text: http://www.fmhi.usf.edu/institute/pubs/bysubject.html.
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (DHHS/PHS), Rockville, MD. Center for Mental Health Services.; National Inst. on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (ED/OSERS), Washington, DC.
Authoring Institution: University of South Florida, Tampa. Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Inst.; University of South Florida, Tampa. Research and Training Center for Children's Mental Health.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A
Note: In: The Annual Research Conference Proceedings, A System of Care for Children's Mental Health: Expanding the Research Base (12th, Tampa, FL, February 21-24, 1999).