The Burden of Psychosocial Stressors and Urgent Mental Health Problems in a Pediatric Weight Management Program

Objective. To systematically screen for behavioral and mental health problems and psychosocial stressors (PS) in newly referred patients and adult caregivers (PACs) in a pediatric weight management program. Methods. We used the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), the Center for Epidemiol...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical pediatrics 2015-11, Vol.54 (13), p.1247-1256
Main Authors: Zenlea, Ian S., Burton, E. Thomaseo, Askins, Nissa, Pluhar, Emily Israel, Rhodes, Erinn T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Body Weight
Caregivers - psychology
Caregivers - statistics & numerical data
Child
Cost of Illness
Female
Humans
Male
Mental disorders
Mental Disorders - complications
Mental Disorders - diagnosis
Mental Disorders - psychology
Parents - psychology
Pediatric Obesity - complications
Pediatric Obesity - psychology
Pediatric Obesity - therapy
Pediatrics
Retrospective Studies
Stress
Stress, Psychological - complications
Stress, Psychological - diagnosis
Stress, Psychological - psychology
Surveys and Questionnaires
Weight control
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Summary:Objective. To systematically screen for behavioral and mental health problems and psychosocial stressors (PS) in newly referred patients and adult caregivers (PACs) in a pediatric weight management program. Methods. We used the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) for caregivers and patients ≥18 years, and assessed urgent mental health concerns and psychosocial stressors. Results. A total of 243 PACs were screened; data were unavailable for 6. Compared with US normative data for the SDQ–Parent Proxy Version, the proportion of patients in our sample with borderline/abnormal total difficulties and conduct problems scores was greater for all age groups. Among adult caregivers with complete CES-D, 18.4% were at risk for depression. Eleven percent of patients screened positive for urgent mental health problems. Overall, 43% of patients and 57.4% of caregivers had PS. Conclusions. Systematic screening identified untreated symptoms and significant PS. Addressing these complex problems likely requires collaborative approaches with community providers.
ISSN:0009-9228
1938-2707
DOI:10.1177/0009922815574077