Risk rates and profiles at intake in child and adolescent mental health services: A cohort and latent class analyses of 21,688 young people in South London.

Background

Children and young people (CYP) seen by child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) often experience safeguarding issues. Yet little is known about the volume and nature of these risks, including how different adversities or risks relate to one another. This exploratory study aims to bridge this gap, examining rates at entry to services and profiles of risk using a latent class analysis.

Methods

Data were extracted for CYP who received at least one risk assessment at CAMHs in South London between January 2007 and December 2017. In total, there were 21,688 risk assessments. Latent class analysis was used to identify profiles of risk from the risk assessments.

Results

Concerns about parent mental health (

Conclusions

These findings provide fresh insights into adverse experiences and risks identified by CAMHS. For professionals, the profiles identified in this study might provide insights into profiles of identified risks, in contrast to traditional cumulative approaches to risk. For researchers, these profiles may be fertile ground for hypothesis-driven work on the association between adversity and later outcomes.

Informations de copyright

© 2024 The Author(s). JCPP Advances published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

The authors have declared that they have no competing or potential conflicts of interest.