Racial and ethnic disparities in caregiver strain and the use of child mental health services: a structural equation model.

OBJECTIVE: Although racial and ethnic disparities in the use of child mental health services have been well documented, the causes of and solutions to these disparities are not clearly understood. This study examined the role of caregiver strain in the disproportionately low rates of services use among youths from racial or ethnic minority groups who had already had contact with public service systems.

METHODS: This cross-sectional study used secondary analysis of a stratified random sample of 1,370 youths from the Patterns of Youth Mental Health Care in Public Service Systems Study, who were involved with at least one of five public sectors of care. Caregiver strain and use of child mental health services in the past 12 months were assessed by the Caregiver Strain Questionnaire and the Service Assessment for Children and Adolescents, respectively. A structural equation model that examined the mediating role of caregiver strain for use of child services among three racial and ethnic groups was evaluated for goodness of fit.

RESULTS: African-American caregivers reported lower levels of caregiver strain than did non-Hispanic white caregivers; Hispanic caregivers did not differ significantly from non-Hispanic white caregivers on reporting caregiver strain. Among African Americans, the effects of race on use of services were indirect, mediated through caregiver strain.

CONCLUSIONS: Findings emphasize the importance of culturally influenced perceptions of caregiving practices and burden among caregivers of a child with emotional or behavioral problems. Intervention efforts to reduce disparities in use of services across racial or ethnic groups need to be informed by a better understanding of the causes of group differences in reporting caregiver strain and the relationship between reported caregiver strain and use of child mental health services.