Citation

Schreier A, Horwitz M, Marshall T, Bracey J, Cummins M, Kaufman JS. J. Emot. Behav. Disord. (Austin) 2021; 29(3): 175-186.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Hammill Institute on Disabilities, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1063426620980695

PMID

34712039

PMCID

PMC8547490

Abstract

Systems of care (SOCs) are comprehensive, community-based services for youth with emotional and behavioral disorders. For these youth, little is known about how trauma symptoms influence participation in SOC care coordination through the Child and Family Team (CFT) meeting. The current study assessed the extent to which exposure to potentially traumatic events (PTEs) and trauma symptoms were associated with participation in CFTs and youth and family outcomes. Participants were 464 youth (M (age) = 11.02, SD = 3.72) and their caregivers. Families completed measures of youth and caregiver functioning, PTEs, and trauma symptoms at enrollment and 6-month follow-up. Care coordinators completed surveys assessing CFT characteristics following each meeting and assessments of youth functioning. Moderated multiple regression analyses tested the conditional effects of youth trauma symptoms on the relationships between CFT characteristics and youth and caregiver outcomes. Trauma symptoms moderated the relationship between the number of days to the first CFT meeting and youth impairment and the relationship between CFT meeting duration and youth impairment.

RESULTS suggest the presence of trauma and other contextual factors contributed to difficulty in initiating services and to changes in youth impairment. Implications for the provision of trauma-informed SOC services are discussed.

Language: en

Keywords

mental health; child; violence; of care; services; system(s); wraparound