How Cultural Capital Shapes Mental Health Care Seeking in College

2021 ◽  
pp. 073112142110428
Author(s):  
Katie R. Billings ◽  
Kathryne M. Young
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Cultural Capital ◽  
Mental Health Treatment ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Treatment Decisions ◽  
Care Seeking

First-generation and working-class undergraduates not only experience mental health problems at higher rates than their more affluent peers, but are also less likely to seek treatment. We administered a mixed-methods survey to undergraduates at two institutions to investigate the relationship between cultural capital and mental health decision-making. Using two measures of cultural capital, we find that students with high cultural capital are more likely to seek mental health treatment than those with limited cultural capital. Additionally, analysis of our qualitative results reveals that while students with limited cultural capital make treatment decisions through a collectivistic lens (considering other people’s needs and opinions), those with high cultural capital tend to view treatment decisions through an individualistic lens (considering their own needs and opinions). These lenses capture both the barriers and facilitators to mental health care that students cite to explain their decision-making. Understanding how cultural capital shapes orientations to mental health care is necessary to facilitate help-seeking for students from all social class backgrounds.

Mental Health Problems and Help-Seeking among Adolescents

2021 ◽  
pp. 189-202
Author(s):  
E.V. Rezun ◽  
◽  
H.R. Slobodskaya ◽  
N.B. Semenova ◽  
T.O. Rippinen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Sleep Disturbances ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Emotional And Behavioral Problems ◽  
Seeking Help

The mental health problems among adolescents have long-lasting effects throughout life. However, research evidence indicates that only 10–30% of adolescents who needed mental health care had received specialized help. The present study reports the prevalence of mental health problems and help-seeking among adolescents, taking into account gender and age differences. The sample included 1752 adolescents (47 % boys,) aged 12-17 years. Data were collected on in two Siberian cities (Novosibirsk and Krasnoyarsk) using an international self-report questionnaire developed for the school-based Eurasian Child Mental Health Study. Participants were recruited from 18 schools, students completed questionnaires anonymously during school lessons. Statistical analysis included analysis of variance (ANOVA), multiple regression analysis, and crosstabs using a chi-squared test. The level of emotional and behavioral problems in Siberian adolescents was slightly higher than that found in European and Asian countries. Twenty three percent of adolescents reported frequent headaches (at least once a week), 11 % reported frequent abdominal pain and 14% suffered from frequent sleep disturbances (3–5 times a week or more). Girls reported a significantly higher level of problems than boys, with the largest gender differences for emotional problems, recurrent pains and sleep disturbances. Weekly consumption of alcohol and daily use of nicotine among boys was more common than among girls (3 % and 6 %, respectively), whereas less frequent use of alcohol and nicotine was commoner in girls (16 %) than in boys (10 %); 7 % of boys and girls had tried drugs at least once. Suicidal thoughts were reported by 22 % of adolescents, 6 % reported suicide attempts and 6 % reported repeated self-harm. One third of adolescents considered seeking outside help and 9 % had actually done so. Girls reported more help-seeking than boys; older girls sought help more often than younger and middle-aged ones. Around one third of adolescents sought help from their relatives; 26 % from friends, the Internet or other non-professional sources; 5 % reported seeking help from a doctor or nurse, and 3 % from a psychologist. The most important independent predictors of seeking help were emotional symptoms, suicidal ideation and hyperactivity/inattention. The results suggest a need for future investigation of the factors associated with help-seeking behavior among adolescents. It is also necessary to develop mental health promotion programs for adolescents, interventions to improve mental health literacy and access to mental health care.

Health worker confidence in diagnosing and treating mental health problems in Papua New Guinea

2004 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 29-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Betty E. Koka ◽  
Frank P. Deane ◽  
Gordon Lambert
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Papua New Guinea ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
New Guinea ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Mental Health Training

Confidence in identifying different diagnostic categories of mental disorders by general health workers who provide the bulk of Papua New Guinea's (PNG) mental health care is vital for the country's provision of mental health care. Making a psychiatric diagnosis is complicated by PNG's diverse culture and estimated 800 distinct languages. These cultural-linguistic factors influence help-seeking behaviour and continued use of traditional treatment despite the introduction of western approaches to mental health care. The aim of this study was to determine the confidence of health workers in identifying and diagnosing different categories of mental health problems in this complex environment. A sample of 209 Papua New Guinea health workers from four geographic regions completed a questionnaire that assessed background levels of training and confidence in diagnosing a range of modern and culture specific diagnoses. Overall, respondents reported relatively little prior mental health training. Consistent with this were the relatively low levels of confidence for culture specific diagnoses (e.g. sorcery), but significantly higher levels of confidence with modern diagnoses (e.g. depression). The implications of the findings for training and provision of mental health care are discussed.

Information-Seeking and Use of Primary Care Mental Health Services Among Gulf Coast Survivors of Natural Disasters

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Nia F. Mason ◽  
Diane B. Francis
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Medical Professional ◽  
Health Care Seeking ◽  
Care Seeking

ABSTRACT Objectives: This study sought to understand factors related to weather-related disaster survivors’ health information and mental health-care–seeking behaviors. Methods: In November 2017, we conducted a quantitative survey of 170 Gulf Coast residents who experienced weather-related disasters. The survey assessed how individual and psychosocial factors affect health-care–seeking behavior. Results: Nearly 66% of participants reported a high frequency of depression and/or anxiety symptoms, yet only 39% saw a medical professional. Of participants who visited a medical professional, 76% sought information from nonmedical sources. Seeking medical care was strongly correlated with seeking information from nonmedical sources and previous healthcare experiences, but not with fear and stigma. Conclusions: Positive communication and strong support systems have the potential to mitigate the reluctance people have in seeking help for mental health problems. Although it is discouraging that few people seek professional care, it is promising that participants were not avoiding care due to fear of being stigmatized. Less opposition to mental health care by survivors offers opportunity for mental health professionals to treat the psychological problems survivors experience. Providing necessary information may make headway to mental health care where it is greatly needed.

scholarly journals Reconciling mental health, public policing and police accountability

2018 ◽  
Vol 92 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
John LM McDaniel
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Policy Documents ◽  
Cultural Attitude ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Parliamentary Debates ◽  
Police Accountability

The paper evaluates a range of policy documents, parliamentary debates, academic reports and statutes in an attempt to contextualise the condition of mental health policing in England and Wales. It establishes that mental health care plays an important role in public policing and argues that police organisations need to institute urgent reforms to correct a prevailing culture of complacency. An unethical cultural attitude towards mental health care has caused decision-making and the exercise of police discretion to be neither well informed nor protective in many cases, resulting in the substandard treatment of people with mental health problems. The paper argues that changes introduced by the Policing and Crime Act 2017 and the revised College of Policing mental health guidelines do not go far enough and that more extensive root-and-branch reforms are needed.

Perceived need for mental health care: influences of diagnosis, demography and disability

2002 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 299-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. MEADOWS ◽  
P. BURGESS ◽  
I. BOBEVSKI ◽  
E. FOSSEY ◽  
C. HARVEY ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Affective Disorders ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
Composite International Diagnostic Interview ◽  
Detailed Examination ◽  
Perceived Need ◽  
Co Morbidity

Background. Recent major epidemiological studies have adopted increasingly multidimensional approaches to assessment. Several of these have included some assessment of perceived need for mental health care. The Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing, conducted in 1997, included a particularly detailed examination of this construct, with an instrument with demonstrated reliability and validity.Methods. A clustered probability sample of 10641 Australians responded to the field questionnaire for this survey, including questions on perceived need either where there had been service utilization, or where a disorder was detected by administration of sections of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. The confidentialized unit record file generated from the survey was analysed for determinants of perceived need.Results. Perceived need is increased in females, in people in the middle years of adulthood, and in those who have affective disorders or co-morbidity. Effects of diagnosis and disability can account for most of the differences in gender specific rates. With correction for these effects through regression, there is less perceived need for social interventions and possibly more for counselling in females; disability is confirmed as strongly positively associated with perceived need, as are the presence of affective disorders or co-morbidity.Conclusions. The findings of this study underscore the imperative for mental health services to be attentive and responsive to consumer perceived need. The substantial majority of people who are significantly disabled by mental health problems are among those who see themselves as having such needs.

Handling Ethical Dilemmas in Multidisciplinary Teams

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill Thistlethwaite ◽  
Wendy Hawksworth
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Interprofessional Collaboration ◽  
Ethical Dilemmas ◽  
Multidisciplinary Teams ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Secondary Health Care

This chapter explores the concept and practice of teamwork and interprofessional collaboration in the support and treatment of clients with mental health problems. Mental health care provision is complex, ethically challenging, and frequently delivered via mental health care teams (MHCT) in both primary and secondary health care settings. We consider how such teams may work together optimally using values-based and client-centered approaches. We discuss the nature of and reasons for conflict arising in multidisciplinary MHCTs, focusing on ethical dilemmas that occur where there is diversity amongst team members in respect of personal, professional, and/or organizational values. The specific ethical issues discussed are: boundary issues; receiving gifts; confidentiality, and involuntary treatment and restraint. Three case studies are used to provide examples of values in action.

Pathways to Mental Health Services and Perceptions about the Effectiveness of Treatment

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 388-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sirry M. Alang ◽  
Donna D. McAlpine
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Severity Of Illness ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Social Characteristics ◽  
Treatment Gap ◽  
Quality Outcomes ◽  
Effectiveness Of Care

The gap between need and effective treatment for mental health problems continues to be a challenge for researchers and policymakers. Much of the attention has been on differences in treatment rates, with insufficient attention to variation in pathways that people take into treatment. Individuals may choose to seek help but may also be substantially influenced by others or coerced into care. The chances of each type of pathway are influenced by social characteristics and may shape perceptions of effectiveness of care. This paper investigates variation in pathways into care and perceived effectiveness of care. We also examine whether choice or coercion into care are associated with whether individuals perceive care as effective and if severity of illness moderates this relationship. We use data from the 2010–2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (N = 10,020). Persons who independently sought mental health care were more likely to rate treatment as effective compared to persons ordered into care. Among people with severe mental illnesses, the probability of rating treatment as effective is lowest among those who were ordered into care. Entry into mental health care is not sufficient for closing the treatment gap if coerced care leads to poorer quality outcomes.

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