The influence of unemployment and divorce rate on child help-seeking behavior about violence, relationships, and other issues

Our data provide a unique and direct perspective on child help-seeking behavior. Our results suggest that more resources need to be devoted to resolving children's problems during times of unemployment as they seek more help particularly with respect to violence. Increased training of counselors with regard to children reporting incidents of violence is particularly important, as the share of contacts about violence is increasing over time and during a recession. Resources are especially needed as, on average, less than half of the calls to child helplines are actually answered.