Differences in Ethnic Background between Regular and Forensic Youth Mental Health Care Patients

Abstract

The ethnic composition of the group of patients treated at both regular and forensic youth mental health care in a big city area in the Netherlands was compared to that of the regional youth population. In this way more accurate information about the mental health care utilization of different ethnic groups was obtained. Based on patient and population statistics, treatment percentages and relative risks were calculated for the major ethnic groups with Dutch natives as a reference. For most immigrant children (age 5-10) the relative risk on receiving regular mental health treatment was about half of that of their Dutch native peers. For the adolescents (age 11-19) the results of immigrants compared to Dutch natives were about the same, whereas the relative risk on treatment in forensic facilities was much higher for immigrant youths than for Dutch natives. Because it is known from epidemiological research that the prevalence of child and adolescent mental disorders is at least as high for ethnic minority groups as for majorities, we concluded that the accessibility of the regular and the forensic child and adolescent mental health facilities was strongly biased by ethnic factors.