Life Domain Research Report Series: Social Connections and Community Conduct

Integral to formulating a picture of youth overall well being is to understand how youth participate in social networks with peers and friends, engage in social or leisure activities, and more generally forge healthy relationships with others. Among a variety of emotional and behavioural challenges faced by children and youth involved with residential treatment or intensive family services may be their ability to negotiate relationships within social contexts (Cameron, de Boer, Frensch, & Adams, 2003). Data was collected about youth who had been involved with children’s mental health residential treatment (RT) or intensive family service programs (IFS), designed as an alternative to residential treatment. Data was gathered about youth functioning at program entry, discharge and 12 to 18 months after leaving the program. Parent-reported measures were used to assess youth functioning prior to service involvement and at follow up. Discharge information was gathered from program records. Both youth and parents/guardians were asked a series of questions assessing behaviour within social networks as well as conduct within the community. For example, parents/guardians indicated how often youth experienced difficulty getting along with friends or were easily annoyed by others. Youth in our study had the opportunity to speak freely about their friendship networks, social activities, and what they liked to do for fun. We also sought to describe the nature and frequency of youth misconduct within the community such as vandalism or theft. Both parents/guardians and youth were asked about behaviour that led to involvement with the legal system

Life Domain Research Report Series: School and Employment

The Life Domain Series describes the community adaptation of children and youth graduating from residential and intensive family service children’s mental health programs in multiple life domains (education and work, social involvements, family and health). This full length report presents evidence from the first and second phases of longitudinal research about how children who were involved with residential and intensive family service mental health programs are doing in school and at work

Life Domain Research Report Series: Youth and Parent Health and Well Being (2010 UPDATE)

Children and youth who have participated in children’s mental health services often continue to live with a variety of emotional and behavioural challenges after service involvement has ended (Cameron, de Boer, Frensch, & Adams, 2003). A key consideration in understanding the long term community adaptation of these children and youth is the ongoing management of emotional and behavioural challenges and the impact these challenges have in the daily lives of youth and their families. Several standardized measures of mental health, physical health, stress, and quality of life were used to assess parental and youth functioning in the life domain of health and well being both prior to service involvement and at follow up. Data were collected about youth who had been involved with children’s mental health residential treatment (RT) or intensive family service programs (IFS), designed as an alternative to residential treatment. Data were gathered about youth functioning at program entry, discharge, 12 to 18 months after leaving the program (Time 1 Follow Up), and 36 to 48 months post discharge (Time 2 Follow Up). Parent-reported measures were used to assess youth functioning prior to service involvement and at follow up. Admission and discharge information was gathered from program records. Parents and guardians were asked a series of questions assessing youth behaviour and well being. For example, parents/guardians indicated how often youth experienced difficulty regulating behaviours, such as fidgeting, arguing, or following directions. Parents/guardians were also asked about how often youth displayed depressive behaviours such as showing little interest in usual activities or appearing unhappy, sad, or depressed. Most of the information about youth mental health was obtained from parents and guardians. Youth were purposefully not asked any direct questions about their mental health or any mental health treatment they received. Instead, youth were asked to indicate how happy or unhappy they felt about their general health and could speak freely about any details they wished to share in this area. Parents were also asked a series of questions about their own well being including physical and emotional health, quality of life, and daily functioning

Life Domain Research Report Series: Youth and Parent Health and Well Being

The Life Domain Series describes the community adaptation of children and youth graduating from residential and intensive family service children’s mental health programs in multiple life domains (education and work, social involvements, family and health). This full length report presents evidence from the first and second phases of longitudinal research about how children who were involved with residential and intensive family service mental health programs are doing in school and at work

Life Domain Research Report Series: School and Employment (2010 UPDATE)

Earlier research by the Partnerships for Children and Families Project on the daily living realities of youth and children involved with mental health services, particularly residential treatment, revealed the ongoing and pervasive nature of difficulties youth and children experienced in their academic functioning (Cameron, de Boer, Frensch, & Adams, 2003). As the education experience is such a large part of youth and children’s lives, we sought to better document how children and youth were performing in school in the current study. Data were collected about youth who had been involved with children’s mental health residential treatment (RT) or intensive family service programs (IFS), designed as an alternative to residential treatment. Data were gathered about youth functioning at program entry, discharge, 12 to 18 months (Time 1 Follow Up) after leaving the program, and 36 to 48 months post discharge (Time 2 Follow Up). Parent-reported measures were used to assess youth functioning prior to service involvement and at follow up. Admission and discharge information was gathered from program records. Additionally, parents or guardians were asked a series of questions addressing school attendance and academic functioning. Youths’ perceptions of their school involvements were obtained through individual qualitative interviews. Both youth and parents or guardians were asked a series of questions addressing school attendance and academic functioning. Parents and guardians responded to questions about whether or not youth/children were in school, how youth/children got along with teachers, and how youth/children were coping with schoolwork. At Time 1 follow up, youth in our study had the opportunity to speak freely about their school experiences by responding to open ended questions about ―how school was going for them‖ and what they liked or disliked about school

Life Domain Research Report Series: Family

The Life Domain Series describes the community adaptation of children and youth graduating from residential and intensive family service children’s mental health programs in multiple life domains (education and work, social involvements, family and health). This full length report presents evidence from the first and second phases of longitudinal research about how children who were involved with residential and intensive family service mental health programs are doing in school and at work

Life Domain Research Report Series: Family (2010 UPDATE)

A key consideration in understanding the long term community adaptation of children and youth involved with residential treatment or intensive family services is the role that family plays in sustaining or eroding gains made by children and youth in treatment (Frensch & Cameron, 2002). This report includes a summary of family descriptive information, the nature of family relationships, and indicators of family functioning for children and youth who have participated in children’s mental health services. Data were collected about youth who had been involved with children’s mental health residential treatment (RT) or intensive family service programs (IFS), designed as an alternative to residential treatment. Data were gathered about youth functioning at program entry, discharge, 12 to 18 months after leaving the program (Time 1 Follow Up), and 36 to 48 months post discharge (Time 2 Follow Up). Parent-reported measures were used to assess youth functioning prior to service involvement and at follow up. Admission and discharge information was gathered from program records. Both youth and parents were asked a series of questions that assessed family functioning and feelings within the family. For example, parents indicated how often youth’s behaviour prevented the family from engaging in various family activities, like shopping or visiting. Parents were also asked about their family’s ability to make decisions or solve problems together. Youth in our study had the opportunity to speak freely about their families including what qualities they liked or disliked in their family members. We also sought to describe the characteristics of the families in our study. Parents were asked a series of demographic questions including the number of children in the home, marital status, and source of family income

Life Domain Research Report Series: Social Connections and Community Conduct (2010 UPDATE)

Understanding how youth participate in social networks with peers and friends, engage in social or leisure activities, and more generally forge healthy relationships with others are key considerations in assessing overall well being of youth. Among a variety of emotional and behavioural challenges faced by children and youth involved with residential treatment or intensive family services may be their ability to negotiate relationships within social contexts (Cameron, de Boer, Frensch, & Adams, 2003). Data were collected about youth who had been involved with children’s mental health residential treatment (RT) or intensive family service programs (IFS), designed as an alternative to residential treatment. Data were gathered about youth functioning at program entry, discharge, 12 to 18 months after leaving the program (Time 1 Follow Up), and 36 to 48 months post discharge (Time 2 Follow Up). Parent-reported measures were used to assess youth functioning prior to service involvement and at follow up. Admission and discharge information was gathered from program records. Both youth and parents/guardians were asked a series of questions assessing behaviour within social networks as well as conduct within the community. For example, parents/guardians indicated how often youth experienced difficulties getting along with friends or how often youth were easily annoyed by others. At 12-18 months post discharge, youth in our study had the opportunity to speak freely about their friendship networks, social activities, and what they liked to do for fun. We also sought to describe the nature and frequency of youth misconduct within the community such as vandalism or theft. Both parents/guardians and youth were asked about behaviour that led to involvement with the legal system

Life Domain Research Report Series: Social Connections and Community Conduct (2010 UPDATE)

Understanding how youth participate in social networks with peers and friends, engage in social or leisure activities, and more generally forge healthy relationships with others are key considerations in assessing overall well being of youth. Among a variety of emotional and behavioural challenges faced by children and youth involved with residential treatment or intensive family services may be their ability to negotiate relationships within social contexts (Cameron, de Boer, Frensch, & Adams, 2003). Data were collected about youth who had been involved with children’s mental health residential treatment (RT) or intensive family service programs (IFS), designed as an alternative to residential treatment. Data were gathered about youth functioning at program entry, discharge, 12 to 18 months after leaving the program (Time 1 Follow Up), and 36 to 48 months post discharge (Time 2 Follow Up). Parent-reported measures were used to assess youth functioning prior to service involvement and at follow up. Admission and discharge information was gathered from program records. Both youth and parents/guardians were asked a series of questions assessing behaviour within social networks as well as conduct within the community. For example, parents/guardians indicated how often youth experienced difficulties getting along with friends or how often youth were easily annoyed by others. At 12-18 months post discharge, youth in our study had the opportunity to speak freely about their friendship networks, social activities, and what they liked to do for fun. We also sought to describe the nature and frequency of youth misconduct within the community such as vandalism or theft. Both parents/guardians and youth were asked about behaviour that led to involvement with the legal system

Life Domain Research Report Series: Family (2010 UPDATE)

A key consideration in understanding the long term community adaptation of children and youth involved with residential treatment or intensive family services is the role that family plays in sustaining or eroding gains made by children and youth in treatment (Frensch & Cameron, 2002). This report includes a summary of family descriptive information, the nature of family relationships, and indicators of family functioning for children and youth who have participated in children’s mental health services. Data were collected about youth who had been involved with children’s mental health residential treatment (RT) or intensive family service programs (IFS), designed as an alternative to residential treatment. Data were gathered about youth functioning at program entry, discharge, 12 to 18 months after leaving the program (Time 1 Follow Up), and 36 to 48 months post discharge (Time 2 Follow Up). Parent-reported measures were used to assess youth functioning prior to service involvement and at follow up. Admission and discharge information was gathered from program records. Both youth and parents were asked a series of questions that assessed family functioning and feelings within the family. For example, parents indicated how often youth’s behaviour prevented the family from engaging in various family activities, like shopping or visiting. Parents were also asked about their family’s ability to make decisions or solve problems together. Youth in our study had the opportunity to speak freely about their families including what qualities they liked or disliked in their family members. We also sought to describe the characteristics of the families in our study. Parents were asked a series of demographic questions including the number of children in the home, marital status, and source of family income