The Needs of Parents of Youth Who Are Truant

ISSN： 1553-555x

Source： Best Practices in Mental Health, Vol.10, Iss.1, 2014-04, pp. : 47-53

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Abstract

The purpose of this brief report is to describe findings from a study that explored the mental health and stress levels of parents of youth referred to a juvenile court because of truancy. Standardized measures (Center for Epidemiologic Studies’ Short Depression scale, Brief Symptom Inventory, Duke Health Profile, Perceived Stress scale, and Parenting Stress Inventory-Short Form) were administered to sixty-five parents. Clinical cut scores and one-sample t tests were used to assess mental health and stress. Many parents had elevated scores on the standardized measures, and significant differences between the sample means and population or referent group means were found. Prevention and intervention strategies for truancy must address youth context, including the needs of parents. More research on parent needs of truant and other at-risk youth is needed.