Hope is a defining characteristic of well-being, and research points to the positive contribution of hope to life adjustment (Snyder, Lehman, Kluck, & Monssan, 2006). Harris developed an initial version of an individual-differences measure of hope, the Trait Hope Scale (THS). Snyder, Harris, and colleagues (1991) further developed the THS by…

As adolescent mental health concerns increase in the United States, the impact of secondary teachers' roles becomes more prevalent. Although public school districts attempt to provide school-based therapy, school counseling, and community or out-patient referral programs, many secondary students are not receiving the proper mental health or crisis…

The Center for Collegiate Mental Health (CCMH) 2021 Annual Report describes 153,233 unique college students, nationally and internationally, seeking mental health treatment; 4,043 clinicians; and more than 1,135,520 appointments from the 2020-2021 academic year. This is the 13th year the report has been produced. This year's report specifically…

The legal files of 144 juveniles charged as adults in one Pennsylvania county were reviewed to investigate whether trauma-related information was included in evaluations of amenability to treatment and how that information related to legal decisions to keep youth in criminal court or decertify them to the juvenile system. Potentially traumatic…

This InfoBrief discusses challenges faced by youth and young adults with mental health needs during their transition to adulthood and describes strategies used by youth service professionals to avoid age-related transition cliffs and prevent service interruptions during this critical stage of development. This InfoBrief is based on a rich body of…

Medications are central to the psychiatric armamentorium in U.S. jails and prisons. Psychiatric medications are used both to stabilize acute symptoms as well as maintain mental health once symptoms are reduced. Both jails and prisons rely heavily on traditional antipsychotics, but both have a full array of atypical medications in their…

This needs assessment study of mental health needs of the elderly in Pennsylvania used a three-part approach. These parts were a review of existing data sources, an extensive key informant study, and a review of service delivery models. A recent study found a prevalence rate for mental illness in the elderly of 12.8%, more than 5% lower than the…

"Data Trends" reports present summaries of research on mental health services for children and adolescents and their families. The article summarized in this "Data Trends" is an analysis of secondary data obtained from a sample of 9 to 11 year old children receiving outpatient public mental health services in Philadelphia. The…

Objective: To determine the concordance between the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID) and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) in diagnosing anxiety and depressive disorders. Method: Fifty women seeking psychiatric services for their children at two mental health centers in western Pennsylvania were assessed for anxiety and…

This study assesses the extent of residential segregation among 15,246 people diagnosed with psychiatric disabilities and receiving Medicaid (MA) in Philadelphia, and an identically sized group of MA recipients serving as matched controls. Results indicate that overall levels of residential segregation among this group were modest at their most…

The Balanced Service System specifies functions required to eliminate mental disabilities and environments in which services can be provided. The model was tested in western Pennsylvania. Although the number of agencies serving the mentally ill doubled between 1960 and 1976, relative availability of each service component remained stable.…