Characteristics of fifth-grade students who self-identify a need for mental health care.

Authors

Samira Soleimanpour, Melissa Saphir, Christina Agostino, Sara Geierstanger

Published in

Journal of mental health (Abingdon, England). Pages 1-11. Jul 21, 2026. Epub Jul 21, 2026.

Abstract

Children can reliably identify their mental health needs, yet research on characteristics of children who self-identify a need for care is limited. This study examined demographic, mental health, and protective factors associated with fifth-grade students' self-identification of mental health care need, using data from the 2024-2025 California Healthy Kids Survey (N = 19,132 students).
Multivariable logistic regression models with restricted cubic splines were used to examine nonlinear associations between self-identified need for care and negative emotions, victimization experiences, and parental involvement.
A need for mental health care was self-identified by 39% of study participants. Females were more likely and Asian/Pacific Islander youth were less likely than their peers to self-identify a need for care. Unadjusted and adjusted odds of self-identifying a need increased significantly with increasing frequency of negative emotions. The adjusted association with victimization was non-linear, with participants with moderate and high levels most likely to identify a need for care. The adjusted association with parent involvement in school was weakly negative.
Future research should evaluate whether a brief question assessing need can serve as a valid and reliable initial indicator to identify children who may benefit from further screening and support.

PMID:
42480029
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 22 Jul 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.