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Abstract
Traditionally, outcome studies in the behavioral sciences have focused primarily on determining the degree to which specific behaviors change as a result of intervention (amount of change). Equally significant, however, is the question of how behaviors change over the course of the assessment and which factors significantly influence change. This study seeks to model change in symptomatology over a 24-month period of 514 children and adolescents with severe emotional disturbance who received services from a federally funded collaborative mental health system. Two principal research questions were addressed. The first question addresses within groups growth: Does symptomatology change over time in children with severe emotional disturbances who receive services through the federally funded system of care? The second question addresses growth between groups: Are changes in symptomatology systematically related to selected characteristics of child background and treatment?|A growth curve method of modeling individual change was used in order to answer these questions. This study modeled the rate and direction of change as well as differences in change rates based upon individual-level characteristics assessed at the time of entry into the study.