Anxiety and Family Functioning: An Examination of Factors Associated with Mental Health Service Complexity for Clinically Referred Children and Youth

Objective: Service complexity refers to the intensity of services an individual needs, influenced by mental health and psychosocial factors. Anxiety is a prevalent mental health condition affecting youth. This study examined the relationship between anxiety and other risk factors—family functioning and interpersonal trauma and polyvictimization—with service complexity while controlling for age and sex. Method: A secondary analysis was conducted using data obtained from interRAI Child and Youth Mental Health (ChYMH) assessments from Canadian mental health agencies. The sample was comprised of 26,800 youth aged 4–18 years old, who were assessed by trained professionals. Results: Higher anxiety, family functioning concerns, and interpersonal trauma were all associated with increased service complexity. Conclusion: The findings of this study highlight the importance of addressing mental health, family, social and service variables when examining mental health utilization across multiple care settings.