The impact of early mental health services on child behavioral outcomes: Comparisons between and within trajectory groups

There is a limited amount of research examining the long-term impact of early mental health services on child outcomes. These analyses examined the outcomes associated with early mental health services in terms of the behavioral trajectories from ages 4 to 12 of a sample of 245 children recruited from low-income, urban families. Three groups of children were identified based on their trajectories of externalizing behavioral problems: Low, Moderate, and High. Children in the High trajectory group were significantly more likely than children in the Low trajectory group to have received early mental health services. Within the trajectory groups, early mental health services were significantly associated with better outcomes in the Low trajectory group and in the Moderate trajectory, but not in the High trajectory group. Early mental health services appear to be associated with some modest beneficial outcomes for some children, but more research is needed on the effectiveness of services with children who have chronically high levels of behavioral problems.