Mental health screening in pediatric practice: factors related to positive screens and the contribution of parental/personal concern.

Objectives: The goals were to examine factors related to positive Pediatric Symptom Checklist scores in an urban practice and to examine the relative contribution of parental/personal concern about emotional and behavioral problems to mental health problem identification.

Methods: Annual screening using the Pediatric Symptom Checklist was implemented in Cambridge Pediatrics (Cambridge, MA). A social worker was colocated in the clinic to provide therapeutic interventions for patients.