A Prospective Study on Structural and Attitudinal Barriers to Professional Help-Seeking for Currently Untreated Mental Health Problems in the Community

BackgroundMany people with mental health problems do not seek professional help but their use of other sources of help is unclear.AimsTo investigate patterns of lay and professional help-seeking in men and women aged 16–64 years in relation to severity of symptoms and sociodemographic variables.MethodPostal questionnaire survey, including the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ–12), sent to a stratified random sample (n=15222) of the population of Somerset.ResultsThe response rate was 76%. Only 28% of people with extremely high GHQ–12 scores (⩾8) had sought help from their general practitioner but most (78%) had sought some form of help. Males, young people and people living in affluent areas were the least likely to seek help.ConclusionsHealth promotion interventions to encourage appropriate help-seeking behaviour in young people, particularly in men, may lead to improvements in the mental health of this group of the population.

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Effort–reward imbalance and medically certified absence for mental health problems: a prospective study of white-collar workers

Occupational and Environmental Medicine ◽

10.1136/oemed-2013-101375 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 71 (1) ◽

pp. 40-47 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

R Ndjaboué ◽

C Brisson ◽

M Vézina ◽

C Blanchette ◽

R Bourbonnais

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Prospective Study ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

White Collar ◽

Health Problems ◽

Effort Reward Imbalance ◽

White Collar Workers ◽

Reward Imbalance ◽

A Prospective Study

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Diet quality and mental health problems in adolescents from East London: a prospective study

Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology ◽

10.1007/s00127-012-0623-5 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 48 (8) ◽

pp. 1297-1306 ◽

Cited By ~ 47

Author(s):

Felice N. Jacka ◽

Catherine Rothon ◽

Stephanie Taylor ◽

Michael Berk ◽

Stephen A. Stansfeld

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Prospective Study ◽

Diet Quality ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Health Problems ◽

A Prospective Study

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Young Men, Help-Seeking, and Mental Health Services: Exploring Barriers and Solutions

American Journal of Men s Health ◽

10.1177/1557988315619469 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 138-149 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Louise Lynch ◽

Maggie Long ◽

Anne Moorhead

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Formal Education ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Young Men ◽

Health Problems ◽

Psychiatric Medication ◽

Professional Help ◽

Total N ◽

North West

International research has identified young men as reluctant to seek help for mental health problems. This research explored barriers and solutions to professional help seeking for mental health problems among young men living in the North West of Ireland. A qualitative approach, using two focus groups with six participants each and five face-to-face interviews, was conducted with men aged 18 to 24 years (total N = 17). Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Seven key themes of barriers to professional help seeking were identified: “acceptance from peers,” “personal challenges,” “cultural and environmental influences,” “self-medicating with alcohol,” “perspectives around seeking professional help,” “fear of homophobic responses,” and “traditional masculine ideals.” Five key themes of solutions to these barriers included “tailored mental health advertising,” “integrating mental health into formal education,” “education through semiformal support services,” “accessible mental health care,” and “making new meaning.” Interesting findings on barriers include fear of psychiatric medication, fear of homophobic responses from professionals, the legacy of Catholic attitudes, and the genuine need for care. This study offers an in-depth exploration of how young men experience barriers and uniquely offers solutions identified by participants themselves. Youth work settings were identified as a resource for engaging young men in mental health work. Young men can be encouraged to seek help if services and professionals actively address barriers, combining advertising, services, and education, with particular attention and respect to how and when young men seek help and with whom they want to share their problems.

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The association between dispositional optimism and mental health problems among disaster victims and a comparison group: A prospective study

Journal of Affective Disorders ◽

10.1016/j.jad.2006.12.004 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 102 (1-3) ◽

pp. 35-45 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Peter G. van der Velden ◽

Rolf. J. Kleber ◽

Marijda Fournier ◽

Linda Grievink ◽

Annelieke Drogendijk ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Prospective Study ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Comparison Group ◽

Dispositional Optimism ◽

Health Problems ◽

Disaster Victims ◽

Group A ◽

A Prospective Study

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The Perceived Stigma Reduction Expressed by Young Adults in Response to Suicide Prevention Videos

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18126180 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (12) ◽

pp. 6180

Author(s):

Sarah Keller ◽

Vanessa McNeill ◽

Tan Tran

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Young Adults ◽

Suicide Prevention ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Health Problems ◽

Meaningful Change ◽

Stigma Reduction ◽

Professional Help ◽

Individual Level

Evidence indicates that stigma impedes an individual’s chance of seeking professional help for a mental health crisis. Commonly reported aggregate-level results for stigma-reduction efforts obfuscate how much stigma reduction is needed to incur a practically meaningful change within an individual, defined here as an attitudinal shift and openness towards seeking mental health for oneself and/or support for others. When basing conclusions and recommendations about stigma-reducing interventions on aggregate scales, it is unclear how much stigma reduction is needed to incur meaningful change within an individual. We explored the impact of reductions in stigma of help-seeking scores in response to an online suicide prevention video among young adults in the United States, using online surveys to collect qualitative and quantitative data. We compared mean changes in the stigma scores from pre- to post-test (video exposure) of 371 young U.S. adults using standard t-tests and individual level analysis. A separate thematic analysis of free-text responses was also conducted from a smaller, randomly-selected subgroup, capturing individuals’ attitudes towards help-seeking for mental health problems. Great attention was given to participants to ensure that they were in a campus setting where counseling services were available. Four main themes emerged: (1) small changes in stigma scores were associated with individual reports of meaningful reductions in their attitudes towards professional counseling; (2) increased empathy towards victims of suicide and other mental health problems sometimes indicated increased empathy for victims of suicide and decreased openness in professional help; (3) empathy towards victims sometimes took the form of increased scores and grief or sadness, possibly thwarting the potential for help-seeking; and (4) self-reports of decreased stigma were not always associated with increased openness towards help-seeking. Results also indicated that small stigma score charges, not meeting statistical significance, were often associated with increased openness towards seeking help. These findings, discovered using mixed-methods, contribute to the body of literature regarding stigma towards suicide and help-seeking by demonstrating deficits in the aggregate-only analysis of stigma-reducing interventions specifically aimed at suicide prevention. Such individuation in stigma experiences indicates that public education on how to reduce the stigma of help-seeking for suicide prevention needs to consider individual-level analyses for improving target populations. Recommendations for future research include additional studies prior to releasing suicide prevention videos to public forums where they may be seen by individuals without access to help.

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Depression literacy and help-seeking in Australian police

Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/0004867417753550 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 52 (11) ◽

pp. 1063-1074 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Nicola J Reavley ◽

Allison J Milner ◽

Angela Martin ◽

Lay San Too ◽

Alicia Papas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Mental Health Literacy ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial ◽

Health Problems ◽

Professional Help ◽

Depression Literacy

Objective: To assess depression literacy, help-seeking and help-offering to others in members of the police force in the state of Victoria, Australia. Methods: All staff in police stations involved in a cluster randomised controlled trial of an integrated workplace mental health intervention were invited to participate. Survey questions covered sociodemographic and employment information, recognition of depression in a vignette, stigma, treatment beliefs, willingness to assist co-workers with mental health problems, help-giving and help-seeking behaviours, and intentions to seek help. Using the baseline dataset associated with the trial, the paper presents a descriptive analysis of mental health literacy and helping behaviours, comparing police station leaders and lower ranks. Results: Respondents were 806 staff, comprising 618 lower-ranked staff and 188 leaders. Almost 84% of respondents were able to correctly label the problem described in the vignette. Among those who had helped someone with a mental health problem, both lower ranks and leaders most commonly reported ‘talking to the person’ although leaders were more likely to facilitate professional help. Leaders’ willingness to assist the person and confidence in doing so was very high, and over 80% of leaders appropriately rated police psychologists, general practitioners, psychologists, talking to a peer and contacting welfare as helpful. However, among both leaders and lower ranks with mental health problems, the proportion of those unlikely to seek professional help was greater than those who were likely to seek it. Conclusion: Knowledge about evidence-based interventions for depression was lower in this police sample than surveys in the general population, pointing to the need for education and training to improve mental health literacy. Such education should also aim to overcome barriers to professional help-seeking. Interventions that aim to improve mental health literacy and help-seeking behaviour appear to be suitable targets for better protecting police member mental health.

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