Building a research base for community services for children and families: What we know and what we need to learn

We examine the knowledge base for community-based mental health services for youth and their families. A brief historical perspective on the development of community services is presented, and the fundamental components of a comprehensive child mental health service system are described. Outcome studies for service components as well as the service system as a whole are summarized. Research related to the context of treatment, i.e., service setting, cost, is presented. The authors conclude that a research base for child and family services is emerging, but there is still a paucity of well designed studies that address the complexities of a community-based system as well as the critical outcome questions that need to be addressed. Finally, promising service system developments are described and recommendations for future research are presented.     

A multivariate model of gender differences in adolescents' internalizing and externalizing problems.

Gender differences observed in interpersonal and self-critical vulnerabilities, reactivity to stressful life events, quality of relationships, and self-concepts inform a multivariate theoretical model of the moderating effects of gender on internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescence. To test this model, data were collected in a 1-year prospective study from an ethnically diverse sample of 460 middle school students. Increases in girls' internalizing symptoms, compared with boys', were partly explained by greater stability in girls' interpersonal vulnerabilities and greater magnitude in coefficients linking girls' relationships with parents and peers and internalizing problems. Boys' risks for externalizing problems, compared with girls', were partly explained by the greater stability in boys' vulnerability to self-criticism. Coefficients for most pathways in the model are similar for boys and girls.