Procedures and Measures
All interviews of former patients and
parents were conducted following consent
procedures. Individual interviews were conducted
in person, either in a private room at
the hospital or at their residence, or by telephone,
based on the preference of the subject.
In-person interviews were conducted by
two members of the research team (RG and
JD), who interviewed the adolescent and the
parents in separate rooms.
Prior to the semistructured interview,
demographic and clinical variables were
collected through standardized self-report
forms. Self-reported demographic data for
both adolescents and their parents included
age at time of interview, sex, race, gross annual
family income, and level of education.
Adolescent demographic data were confirmed
through comparison with information
from the hospital charts. Self-reported
clinical treatment and services data, collected
from both adolescents and their parents, included
age of admission, psychiatric diagnoses,
current psychotropic medications,
current clinical provider care, frequency of
treatment, and subjective rates of adherence
both to the prescribed medication regimen
and to scheduled treatment appointments.
Age of admission and psychiatric diagnoses
were confirmed through chart review, which
also provided data on length of hospitalization,
age at discharge, time since admission,