Mental Health Screening in Pediatric Primary Care: Factors Associated With Screening Completion and Elevated Scores

This study aimed to examine predictors of complete and elevated youth mental health screens. Parents of 4- to 11-year-old children completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) during a routine, universal mental health screening initiative in primary care. Bivariate logistic regressions were run to examine associations between independent (visit age, sex, race/ethnicity, language, insurance, and guardian) and dependent variables (screening completion and elevated SDQ score). Parents of younger and Spanish-speaking (vs English-speaking) children were less likely to have a complete SDQ screen. Among those with complete SDQ screens, older children, male children, those with public or no insurance, and those who had a mother (vs father) complete the screener were more likely to have an elevated score. Understanding patterns of screening completion rates and predictors of elevated screens provides valuable information to improve resource mapping and planning. Findings can inform mental health screening implementation and optimization within primary care.