Dose-Effect of Children's Psychosocial Rehabilitation on the Daily Functioning of Youth with Serious Emotional Disturbance

摘要

Children's psychosocial rehabilitation (CPSR) is a promising but under-eval-uated home- and community-based treatment for children with serious emotional distur-bance (SED). CPSR addresses the functional impairments of children with SED through anasset-based, skill-building approach that involves multiple systems in the child's life. Thepresent study evaluated the effectiveness of CPSR by examining the relationship betweenthe number of hours of CPSR received (dose) and changes in children's daily functioning(effect). Data came from a retrospective review of medical charts at a site with a well-specified CPSR model. Trained raters assessed children's functioning at intake and4 months post-intake using the Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale or thePreschool and Early Childhood Functional Assessment Scale. After controlling for initialseverity of impairment and receipt of concurrent psychotherapy and medication, regressionanalyses revealed children receiving larger doses of CPSR exhibited better daily func-tioning and had better odds of achieving clinically significant improvement than childrenreceiving lower doses of CPSR. Findings suggest CPSR is a beneficial treatment forchildren with SED. Further study of this innovative treatment is warranted.