(PS5-C56) Caregiver Hopefulness About Youth Mental Health Treatment: Longitudinal Changes in a State System of Care

Hope theorists posit that the construct of hopefulness may be positively associated with both psychological and physical wellness (Herth, 1991; Synder et al., 2001). Research suggests that higher levels of hopefulness have been associated with positive treatment outcomes (e.g., lower behavioral difficulties; Valle et al., 2004). However, few studies have examined the role of hopefulness in treatment with multiethnic youth, and it is unclear whether extant findings are generalizable to these populations. Further, despite the growing literature on the clinical value of assessing caregiver perspectives on youth treatment, there is a lack of investigations utilizing hopefulness measures capturing both caregiver and youth perspectives.

 As part of a larger statewide quality improvement initiative focused on improving measurement-based care, all youth and parents in [STATE] fill out the Ohio Scales, Hopefulness Scale (Ogles et al., 1996) on a monthly basis while receiving public mental health services. As the only measure assessing hopefulness from both youth and caregiver perspectives, research on this scale provides a unique opportunity to contribute to the literature by examining the role of caregiver hopefulness more broadly, and for this specific study, within the context of ethnically diverse youth receiving community mental health services. Based upon prior findings that support the Hopefulness Scale’s reliability and validity with multiethnic youth in [STATE] (Ng et al., 2021), the current study examined the relationship between caregiver-reported Hopefulness Scale scores at intake and three months after the beginning of treatment as collected through implementation of a measurement feedback system.

 Participants included 529 caregivers of youth receiving community mental health services through the [STATE] Department of Health, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division. Youths were ethnically diverse (31.6% multiethnic, 9.3% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, 7.4% Asian, 6.0% White, 1.1% Black; 44.6% not reported), 64.3% male, an average age of 12.6 (SD = 3.44) years, and primarily treated for mood or disruptive behavior concerns. The average number of days between intake and follow-up assessments were 85 days.

 A paired samples t-test was conducted to compare caregiver-reported Hopefulness Scale scores (with higher scores indicating lower hopefulness) at intake and three months follow up. Results indicated that Hopefulness scores at intake (M = 12.46, SD = 4.48) were significantly higher than Hopefulness scores at follow up (M = 10.76, SD = 4.22), t (428) = 9.08, p < .001, d = .40. Several forthcoming analyses, such as examining a third time point and potential moderators of our main findings, will also be presented at the conference. Our study’s results further highlight the potential applicability of utilizing the Hopefulness Scale with diverse samples, especially in the context of a measurement feedback system within community mental health service settings. Implications related to implementing hopefulness into cognitive behavioral and other evidence-based therapies will be discussed along with future directions and limitations.