Abstract
Purpose. This dissertation examined the effects of consumer-provider ethnic match, ethnicity, acculturation, and ethnic identity on treatment outcomes and satisfaction of child and adolescent consumers in a community mental health setting. Method. Archival data on 1,656 African American, Latino American, and White American children and adolescents whose age ranged from 5–18, including their parent/caregiver and modal provider were used to investigate the impact of the variables in this study. Measures used were the Ohio Problem Severity and Functioning Scales, Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), Youth Services Survey (YSS), Youth Services Survey for Families (YSS-F), Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican American-II (ARSMA-II), and Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM). Statistical analyses included Pearson r correlations, ANCOVAs, ANOVAs, and post hoc analyses. Findings. Ethnically matched and nonmatched African American, Latino American, and White American child and adolescent consumers did not differ in their problem severity and functioning, but the matched groups showed higher GAF-difference. Interaction effects involving ethnic match and ethnicity indicated that the parents or caregivers of the matched groups, particularly the Latino American group showed higher satisfaction in their perception towards participation in services. Moreover, ethnic match was associated with satisfaction with outcome of services. The GAF-difference of the ethnically matched consumers (ages 12–18) was higher than those of the nonmatched consumers. Of these ethnically matched youth consumers, the Latino American and White American groups garnered higher GAF-difference than the African American group. Lastly, ethnic match, not acculturation or ethnic identity, relates to positive treatment outcomes (GAF-difference) among Latino American consumers.