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The organization and effectiveness of community mental health systems

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Abstract

This article explores five hypotheses on why some county mental health systems are more effective than others. The five hypotheses are: leadership succession, powerful agency, integrated system, service barriers, and resource dependency. The five explanations are tested through multiple regression on eight county service delivery systems in the northwest United States. The results of the study support the first three hypotheses, but not the latter two.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, University of California, 405 Hilgard Ave., 90024, Los Angeles, CA

    Oscar Grusky Ph.D.

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  1. Oscar Grusky Ph.D.
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Additional information

This research was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (R01 MH-38887 and T32 MH-14583; O. Grusky, Principal Investigator and Program Director). The author appreciates the assistance of Kathleen Tierney, Field Director, and of the following postdoctoral scholars: Lee Clark, Robert Fiorentine, Carol Gardner, Chris Grella, Matthew Lynes, Kathleen Montgomery, Keiko Nakao, Margaret Spanish, William Staples, and Patricia Ullman. Research assistance was carried out by Amalya Oliver and Leah Robin. The cooperation of the state mental health division, county authorities, and the individual respondents are appreciated, as are the statistical advice of Richard Berk and David Grusky, and comments on the manuscript of Yeheskel Hasenfeld and the late Howard Freeman.

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Grusky, O. The organization and effectiveness of community mental health systems. Adm Policy Ment Health 22, 361–388 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02106686

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