Exploring patterns of interpersonal violence and mental health service complexity amongst treatment-seeking children and youth in Canada

Area of Science:

• Child and Adolescent Mental Health
• Public Health Research
• Victimology

Background:

• Interpersonal violence negatively impacts children's mental health and service needs.
• The link between interpersonal violence and mental health service complexity remains understudied.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore associations between multiple forms of interpersonal violence, polyvictimization, and children's mental health service complexity.
• Investigate predictors of service complexity in pediatric mental healthcare.

Main Methods:

• Utilized de-identified routine care data from 18,701 children and youth (ages 4-18) across 59 Ontario community mental health agencies.
• Employed Poisson regression models to analyze relationships between interpersonal violence, family functioning, foster care, demographics, and service complexity.

Main Results:

• All forms of interpersonal violence and polyvictimization were associated with increased service complexity.
• Polyvictimization remained a significant predictor of service complexity, even after controlling for other factors.
• Low family functioning and foster care history also correlated with higher service complexity.

Conclusions:

• Identified interpersonal violence, polyvictimization, family functioning, and foster care as key predictors of mental health service complexity in children.
• Findings underscore the need for specialized approaches and resource allocation for children with complex needs due to violence exposure.