Table 1.
Characteristics of the study population, kaiser permanente members referred for behavioral health therapy (BHT), 2014
| Characteristic | Total (N = 293) | Group 1 Not assessed (N = 49) |
Group 2 Assessed but did not initiate treatment (N = 18) |
Group 3 Initiated but discontinued treatment (N = 70) |
Group 4 Initiated and continued treatment (N = 156) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | |
| Child median age at referral for treatment, years (SD) | 6.5 (4.1) | 8.2 (4.4) | 8.3 (4.4) | 7.3 (4.1) | 6.0 (3.8) |
| Child age at referral for treatment, years | |||||
| <5 | 105 (36) | 13 (27) | 5 (28) | 23 (33) | 64 (41) |
| 5–<12 | 139 (47) | 25 (51) | 10 (56) | 32 (46) | 72 (46) |
| ≥12 | 49 (17) | 11 (22) | 3 (17) | 15 (21) | 20 (13) |
| Child’s race/ethnicity | |||||
| White | 108 (37) | 20 (41) | 5 (28) | 29 (41) | 54 (35) |
| Hispanic | 65 (22) | 9 (18) | 6 (33) | 18 (26) | 32 (21) |
| Asian | 78 (27) | 11 (22) | 4 (22) | 16 (23) | 47 (30) |
| Black/other | 42 (14) | 9 (18) | 3 (17) | 7 (10) | 23 (15) |
| Sex | |||||
| Male | 244 (83) | 41 (84) | 15 (83) | 61 (87) | 127 (81) |
| Female | 49 (17) | 8 (16) | 3 (17) | 9 (13) | 29 (19) |
| Born in Kaiser | |||||
| Yes | 173 (59) | 28 (57) | 7 (39) | 47 (67) | 91 (58) |
| No | 120 (41) | 21 (43) | 11 (61) | 23 (33) | 65 (42) |
| Parent insurance coverage typea | |||||
| Employer/self-funded | 272 (93) | 43 (90) | 14 (78) | 64 (91) | 151 (97) |
| State subsidized | 20 (7) | 5 (10) | 4 (22) | 6 (9) | 5 (3) |
| Child’s copay for BHTa | |||||
| ≤$20 | 218 (77) | 32 (73) | 12 (80) | 57 (84) | 117 (75) |
| >$20 | 64 (23) | 12 (27) | 3 (20) | 11 (16) | 38 (25) |
| Multiple ASD in familya | |||||
| Yes | 34 (12) | 7 (15) | 0 (0) | 11 (16) | 16 (10) |
| No | 257 (88) | 40 (85) | 18 (100) | 59 (84) | 140 (90) |
| Mother median age at child’s referral for treatment, years (SD) | 38.2 (7.2) | 38.1 (7.0) | 36.8 (10.2) | 37.6 (7.4) | 38.6 (6.8) |
| Mother age at child’s referral for treatment, yearsa | |||||
| <30 | 26 (10) | 2 (5) | 5 (31) | 9 (14) | 10 (7) |
| 30–39 | 130 (48) | 21 (51) | 4 (25) | 29 (44) | 76 (51) |
| ≥40 | 116 (43) | 18 (44) | 7 (44) | 28 (42) | 63 (42) |
| Mother educationa | |||||
| ≤ High school graduate | 47 (26) | 8 (24) | 6 (67) | 11 (22) | 22 (24) |
| Undergraduate/Postgraduate | 137 (74) | 25 (76) | 3 (33) | 39 (78) | 70 (76) |
| Father median age at child’s referral for treatment, years (SD)a | 41.3 (7.9) | 41.2 (7.5) | 39.3 (8.6) | 42.0 (7.8) | – |
| Father age at child’s referral for treatment a | |||||
| <30 | 14 (6) | 3 (8) | 1 (8) | 6 (12) | 4 (3) |
| 30–39 | 87 (37) | 12 (32) | 5 (42) | 16 (31) | 54 (41) |
| ≥40 | 134 (57) | 23 (61) | 6 (50) | 30 (58) | 75 (56) |
| Father educationa | |||||
| ≤ High school graduate | 53 (29) | 11 (33) | 4 (50) | 20 (42) | 18 (20) |
| Undergraduate/Postgraduate | 127 (71) | 22 (67) | 4 (50) | 28 (58) | 73 (80) |
| Psychiatric comorbidities | |||||
| Yes | 81 (28) | 19 (39) | 4 (22) | 29 (41) | 29 (19) |
| No | 212 (72) | 30 (61) | 14 (78) | 41 (59) | 127 (81) |
| Intellectual disability | |||||
| Yes | 29 (10) | 2 (4) | 4 (22) | 3 (4) | 20 (13) |
| No | 264 (90) | 47 (96) | 14 (78) | 67 (96) | 136 (87) |
| Sleep problems | |||||
| Yes | 14 (5) | 3 (6) | 1 (6) | 6 (9) | 4 (3) |
| No | 279 (95) | 46 (94) | 17 (94) | 64 (91) | 152 (97) |
| Seizure disorder/seizure | |||||
| Yes | 12 (4) | 0 (0) | 1 (6) | 2 (3) | 9 (6) |
| No | 281 (96) | 49 (100) | 17 (94) | 68 (97) | 147 (94) |
| GI disorder | |||||
| Yes | 135 (46) | 21 (43) | 9 (50) | 39 (56) | 66 (42) |
| No | 158 (54) | 28 (57) | 9 (50) | 31 (44) | 90 (58) |
| Genetic syndrome | |||||
| Yes | 21 (7) | 2 (4) | 2 (11) | 11 (16) | 6 (4) |
| No | 272 (93) | 47 (6) | 16 (89) | 59 (84) | 150 (96) |
| Medical complexity | |||||
| ASD with 0–1 co-occurring conditions | 159 (54) | 27 (55) | 9 (50) | 34 (49) | 89 (57) |
| ASD with ≥2 co-occurring conditions | 134 (46) | 22 (45) | 9 (50) | 36 (51) | 67 (43) |
| Psychiatric medications | |||||
| Stimulants/ADHD Meds | |||||
| Yes | 43 (15) | 10 (20) | 3 (17) | 13 (19) | 17 (11) |
| No | 250 (85) | 39 (80) | 15 (83) | 57 (81) | 139 (89) |
| Antipsychotic 2nd generation | |||||
| Yes | 22 (8) | 5 (10) | 1 (6) | 4 (6) | 12 (8) |
| No | 271 (92) | 44 (90) | 17 (94) | 66 (94) | 144 (92) |
| Antidepressants | |||||
| Yes | 24 (8) | 5 (10) | 1 (6) | 10 (14) | 8 (5) |
| No | 269 (92) | 44 (90) | 17 (94) | 60 (86) | 148 (95) |
| Anticonvulsant | |||||
| Yes | 8 (3) | 0 (0) | 1 (6) | 3 (4) | 4 (3) |
| No | 285 (97) | 49 (100) | 17 (94) | 67 (96) | 152 (97) |
| Antianxiety | |||||
| Yes | 15 (5) | 2 (4) | 1 (6) | 2 (3) | 10 (6) |
| No | 278 (95) | 47 (96) | 17 (94) | 68 (97) | 146 (94) |
| Benzodiazepine | |||||
| Yes | 20 (7) | 3 (6) | 1 (6) | 7 (10) | 9 (6) |
| No | 273 (93) | 46 (94) | 17 (94) | 63 (90) | 147 (94) |
| Any psychiatric medications | |||||
| Yes | 78 (27) | 17 (35) | 4 (22) | 22 (31) | 35 (22) |
| No | 215 (73) | 32 (65) | 14 (78) | 48 (69) | 121 (78) |
| KP therapies received at the time of referral for BHT | |||||
| Speech/Language therapy | |||||
| Yes | 41 (14) | 3 (6) | 3 (17) | 8 (11) | 27 (17) |
| No | 252 (86) | 46 (94) | 15 (83) | 62 (89) | 129 (83) |
| Occupational therapy/physical therapy | |||||
| Yes | 39 (13) | 6 (12) | 3 (17) | 8 (11) | 22 (14) |
| No | 254 (87) | 43 (88) | 15 (83) | 62 (89) | 134 (86) |
| Feeding therapy | |||||
| Yes | 4 (1) | 1 (2) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 3 (2) |
| No | 289 (99) | 48 (98) | 18 (100) | 70 (100) | 153 (98) |
SD standard deviation, ADHD attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, BHT behavioral health treatment
aNumbers don’t add up to column totals due to missing data