Preschool behavior problems: Barriers and other factors that hinder parents from getting mental health treatment for their preschool -age child

This study explores the differences between parents of preschoolers with behavior problems and parents of preschoolers without behavior problems in seeking help, receiving referrals, and accessing mental health services for their preschoolers. Additionally, barriers to mental health treatment are examined. Research suggests that while behavior problems first arise in the preschool years, mental health treatment is often not obtained until the child reaches at least 9 years of age. One hundred eleven parents of preschoolers were recruited from preschools in the South Bay area of Los Angeles to fill out three short questionnaires. Behavior problems were measured by the Preschool Behavior Questionnaire and were rated by both the preschooler's parent and teacher. Help-seeking behaviors by the parents, whether or not the children were referred to mental health, and whether or not the child had received mental health treatment was measured by a separate questionnaire (Support for Families of Preschoolers Questionnaire) filled out by the preschooler's parent.;Parents of preschoolers with behavior problems were more likely to have sought help, had their children referred for mental health services and obtained mental health treatment for their children than parents of preschoolers without behavior problems. Parents of preschoolers with behavior problems were also more likely to have perceived barriers to mental health treatment than parents of preschoolers without behavior problems. The three most common barriers that parents of preschoolers with behavior problems cited were that they felt they could handle the problem on their own, that the problem would go away on its own, and that another family member did not believe the child had a problem.;There were no differences between parents of preschoolers with externalizing behavior problems and parents of preschoolers with internalizing behavior problems on help seeking or obtaining mental health treatment. However, parents of preschoolers with externalizing behavior problems were more likely to have had their children referred for mental health services than parents of preschoolers with internalizing behavior problems.