A preschool child psychiatric service: predictors of post-assessment default

A study of post-assessment default from a preschool child psychiatric service found that about two-thirds of the sample defaulted (two-thirds of these immediately after assessment) and, as in other services, most referrals were seen three times or less. Default, as predicted, was not related to sociodemographic factors. In addition, in contrast to previous studies, there was no overall relationship to type or severity of child symptoms nor to maternal mood disorder. However, default was unexpectedly associated with staff inexperience, shorter initial interview duration and type of treatment offered. Possible explanations for these results and further avenues of research are discussed.