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The purpose of this study was to identify which domains of family functioning were associated with odds of internalizing versus externalizing mental health disorder, past-year health professional consultations, hospitalizations, and length of hospital stay in a sample of children with a mental health disorder. One hundred children aged 6–17 years who received mental health services (inpatient or outpatient) and their parents at a large clinical paediatric tertiary care centre in Ontario were recruited in this cross-sectional study. The final recruited and analyzed sample was children aged 8–17 years. Family functioning was measured using the McMaster Family Assessment Device (FAD), child mental health disorder using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, and mental health service use using items from the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey (Mental Health). Higher scores on affective involvement and problem solving were associated with greater odds of major depressive disorder [OR = 2.12 (1.01, 4.43)] and social phobia [OR = 1.80 (1.09, 2.98)]. Reports of better communication were correlated with lower odds of generalized anxiety disorder [OR = 0.55 (0.35, 0.84)] and shorter length of stay in hospital [OR = 0.93 (0.89, 0.97)]. Higher scores on behaviour control were associated with lower odds of social phobia and oppositional defiant disorder [OR = 0.48 (0.27, 0.86) and OR = 0.52 (0.32, 0.84)], respectively. Future research should aim to gain an understanding of strategies that ameliorate family functioning to limit the impact and severity of childhood mental health conditions.

Initial evidence suggests that the WHO Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS 2.0) is valid and reliable in general youth populations; however, its psychometric properties in specific subgroups are less established. The primary objective was to test for measurement invariance of the 12-item WHODAS 2.0 in an epidemiological sample of youth aged 15 to 19 years with and without physical or mental conditions. Using data from 1,851 youth in the Canadian Community Health Survey–Mental Health, invariance was tested using multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis. Within-domain item correlations were significant and ordinal coefficient alphas were .91, .94, .93, and .92 for the healthy control, physical, mental, and comorbid groups, respectively. Partial measurement invariance was demonstrated for the WHODAS 2.0, with evidence of noninvariance for item residuals and factor variances related to cognition and participation. While these domain-specific comparisons may be biased, valid comparisons of overall disability across subgroups of youth can be made with confidence.

The purpose of the study was to test whether elevated levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms affect parent-proxy reports of health-related quality of life (HRQL) of children with mental disorder. A sample of 114 children, who screened positive for mental disorder using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview were studied. Parents’ depressive symptoms were measured using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and anxiety symptoms using the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). To examine whether parental psychopathology moderated their reports of child HRQL (using the KIDSCREEN-27), a series of multiple regression analyses with product-term interactions were conducted. Significant interactions were found for the moderating effect of parental depressive [β = 0.025 (0.007, 0.042)] and anxiety symptoms [β = 0.033 (0.011, 0.054)] on the domain of child social support and peers relations, as well as for the moderating effect of parental levels of depression on parent proxy child physical well-being [β = − 0.017 (− 0.031, − 0.003)]. Parents with elevated levels of depressive or anxiety symptoms reported lower scores for those domains of child HRQL. Symptoms of depression and anxiety in parents influence their reports of the HRQL of their children with mental disorder, particularly in the areas of physical well-being and social support and peers. Given the importance of patient-reported outcomes in the assessment and monitoring of children with chronic conditions, including HRQL, health professionals caring for children with mental disorder should be aware of how parental psychopathology contributes to informant bias. Future research examining why psychopathology influences parental reports of child HRQL is warranted.