Work

Attitudes Toward Mental Health Help Seeking as Predictors of Future Help-Seeking Behavior and Use of Mental Health Treatments

Year: 2016

Type: article

Abstract: OBJECTIVES: The study examined the association of attitudes toward mental health help seeking and beliefs about the effectiveness of treatments with future help-seeking behavior and use of specific services in the general population. METHODS: Data on attitudes and beliefs at baseline were taken from the U.S. National Comorbidity Survey (NCS), a general population survey conducted in 1990-1992. Help seeking from various providers and use of psychiatric medications and counseling or therapy were examined in the NCS follow-up, in which 5,001 of the original NCS participants were reinterviewed in 2001-2003. RESULTS: Willingness to seek professional help for a serious emotional problem and feeling comfortable talking about personal problems with professionals were significantly associated with future help seeking and treatment use. One-third (33.4%) of participants who stated at baseline that they would "definitely go" to a professional if they had a serious emotional problem sought future help, compared with 20.7% of those who would "definitely not go." Corresponding values were 33.4% and 24.4% for those who reported feeling "very comfortable" and "not at all comfortable," respectively, talking about personal problems with a professional. The associations were consistent among participants with and without a history of help seeking and with and without mood, anxiety, or substance use disorders during the follow-up. Embarrassment if friends found out and beliefs about treatment effectiveness were not associated with future help seeking or service use. CONCLUSIONS: Identification of attitudinal factors most closely linked to future mental health help seeking has potential implications for public mental health campaigns.

Source: Psychiatric Services

DOI: 10.1176/appi.ps.201500164

Authors: Ramin Mojtabai, Sara Evans-Lacko, Georg Schomerus, Graham Thornicroft

Institutions: Johns Hopkins University, King's College London, Universität Greifswald

Language: English

Topic: Mental Health Treatment and Access

Subfield: Social Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: bronze

Funder: National Institute for Health and Care Research