The strength of youth voice: understanding the influence of youth strength-perspectives on desired outcomes for youth enrolled in system-of-care services

Recent efforts to improve mental health services for young people have been accompanied by rhetoric around the importance of including youth and families in service planning and delivery, and attending to youth strengths in addition to pathology. However, within this treatment context, both in research and practice, many continue to prioritize adult perspectives of youth strengths and difficulties, and, several questions remain about how and why strengths matter for youth. The present study examines the relative influence of youth and caregiver strength assessments across 6 strength domains to predict 6 emotional and behavioral outcomes. Data were gathered from 49 youth and caregiver dyads that were interviewed upon enrollment in system-of-care services, and 6 months posterior. Hierarchical linear regression analyses provide support for the influence of youth strength assessments over and above caregiver strength assessments for predicting delinquency, school attendance, and activity involvement 6 months after enrollment in services. These results promote the value of youth strength perspectives as important predictors of desired outcomes over time, providing a platform for including youth voice in mental health service planning and delivery. Furthermore, exploratory analyses identified significant associations between particular strength domains and specific outcomes, highlighting the value of understanding strengths in a domain specific way.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2014

Author dc:creator

• Trawick, Elizabeth

Contributors dc:contributor

• Aber, Mark S.
• Allen, Nicole E.

• youth
• strengths
• mental health treatment

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2014 Elizabeth Trawick

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/50603

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/50603