Factors Associated With School-Based Mental Health Services Delivered By School Psychologists

The purpose of this study was to examine factors that relate to the delivery of mental health services by school psychologists using a national database. The relationship between school psychologists\u27 demographic, preparation, and professional context factors (e.g., gender, ethnicity, educational level, percentage of minority students served, years of experience, and students to school psychologist ratio), and the types of mental health services delivered, amount of time invested in such services, and the desirability of school psychologists to provide or not to provide mental health services was addressed. In addition, the percentages of school psychologists who deliver mental health services and the amount of time they spend in broadly defined mental health service types was addressed. Results of the analyses suggest that students to school psychologist ratio, gender, and percentage of minority students served significantly predict the types of mental health services delivered by school psychologists. In addition, students to school psychologist ratio was related to the amount of time school psychologists spend providing consultation, assessment, and intervention services related to mental health. There was a statistical significant difference in the desire to provide or not to provide more mental health services for male and female psychologists and psychologists with different educational levels. Inaddition, school psychologists\u27 years of experience were related to their desire to provide or not to provide more mental health services. On average, school psychologists in this sample provided seven types of mental health services weekly and provided approximately 29 hours of service related to mental health per week. These results provide initial information as to what factors support school psychologists providing mental health services in schools. This information is important for training programs and legislation to ensure that students are receiving optimal mental health services in schools