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. 2015 Nov;54(13):1247-56.
doi: 10.1177/0009922815574077. Epub 2015 Mar 15.

The Burden of Psychosocial Stressors and Urgent Mental Health Problems in a Pediatric Weight Management Program

Ian S Zenlea  1 , E Thomaseo Burton  2 , Nissa Askins  3 , Emily Israel Pluhar  4 , Erinn T Rhodes  2
Affiliations

The Burden of Psychosocial Stressors and Urgent Mental Health Problems in a Pediatric Weight Management Program

Ian S Zenlea et al. Clin Pediatr (Phila). 2015 Nov.

Abstract

Objective: To systematically screen for behavioral and mental health problems and psychosocial stressors (PS) in newly referred patients and adult caregivers (PACs) in a pediatric weight management program.

Methods: We used the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) for caregivers and patients ≥18 years, and assessed urgent mental health concerns and psychosocial stressors.

Results: A total of 243 PACs were screened; data were unavailable for 6. Compared with US normative data for the SDQ-Parent Proxy Version, the proportion of patients in our sample with borderline/abnormal total difficulties and conduct problems scores was greater for all age groups. Among adult caregivers with complete CES-D, 18.4% were at risk for depression. Eleven percent of patients screened positive for urgent mental health problems. Overall, 43% of patients and 57.4% of caregivers had PS.

Conclusions: Systematic screening identified untreated symptoms and significant PS. Addressing these complex problems likely requires collaborative approaches with community providers.

Keywords: behavioral health; mental health; pediatric obesity; psychosocial stressors; screening.

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Conflict of interest statement

Financial Disclosures and Conflicts of Interest: Dr. Erinn Rhodes receives research funding support from Merck, and her spouse currently owns stock in Bristol Myers Squibb. Dr. Erinn Rhodes’ research with Merck is focused on type 2 diabetes mellitus and is therefore unrelated to the subject of this manuscript. Nissa Askins reports grants from New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center Boston Children’s Hospital, during the conduct of the study; grants from Harvard Catalyst, outside the submitted work. The other authors have no conflicts of interest, financial relationships, or competing interests relevant to this article to disclose.

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