The Effects of Organizational Culture on Mental Health Service Engagement of Transition Age Youth

Nationwide, there is a growing concern in understanding mental health service engagement among transition age youth. The ecological perspective suggests that there are multiple barriers to service engagement which exist on varying levels of the ecosystem. Based on the socio-technical theory and organizational culture theory, this study examined the impact of organization-level characteristics on perceived service engagement and the moderating role of organizational culture on practitioner-level characteristics affecting youth service engagement. A cross-sectional survey research design was used to address the research questions. The data were collected from 279 practitioners from 27 mental health service organizations representing three major metropolitan areas in Ohio. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to address a nested structure. Findings revealed that location of organization, service setting, and organizational culture had significant effects on the continuation of services. In addition, the relationship between service coordination and resource knowledge and service engagement was moderated by organizational culture.