scholarly journals Adolescents' mental health, help seeking and service use and parents' perception of family functioning

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Øyfrid Larsen Moen ◽  
Marie Louise Hall-Lord

The adolescent population is facing mental-health challenges such as depression and anxiety. The aim of this study was to describe and investigate the mental health of adolescents, their relation to their parents, who they contact for help and their healthcare service use. A further objective was to describe and investigate family functioning in parents. A cross-sectional design was employed using register data from a survey of adolescents ( n = 46,961), and surveys were conducted of two groups of parents – one group of parents with children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ( n = 264) and one group of parents with school children ( n = 157). Descriptive and comparative statistics were used. Of the adolescents, 5.65% were quite distressed. This group of adolescents would be less likely to seek help from friends and parents than the other adolescents. They were also more likely to use all types of healthcare services, and parents reported that they avoided discussing fears and concerns. School nurses are low-threshold professionals who can contribute in early support and interventions, providing service to all school pupils with an open-door policy. The use of family conversations focusing on strengths and resources may help the families to talk about difficult matters and highlight the resources in the family.

Crisis ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 290-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha Gontijo Guerra ◽  
Helen-Maria Vasiliadis

Abstract. Background: Healthcare service use among suicide decedents must be well characterized and understood since a key strategy for preventing suicide is to improve healthcare providers' ability to effectively detect and treat those in need. Aims: To determine gender differences in healthcare service use 12 months prior to suicide. Method: Data for 1,231 young Quebec residents (≤ 25 years) who died by suicide between 2000 and 2007 were collected from public health insurance agency databases and coroner registers. Healthcare visits were categorized according to the setting (emergency department [ED], outpatient, and hospital) and their nature (mental health vs. non-mental health). Results: Girls were more likely than boys (82.5% vs. 74.9%, p = .011) to have used healthcare services in the year prior to death. A higher proportion of girls had used outpatient services (79.0% vs. 69.5%, p = .003), had been hospitalized (25.7% vs. 15.6%, p < .001) and had received a mental health-related diagnosis (46.7% vs. 33.1%, p < .001). However, no gender differences were observed in ED visits (59.5% vs. 54.5%, p = .150). Conclusion: There is an important proportion of suicide decedents who did not receive a mental health diagnosis and healthcare services in the year prior to death. Future studies should focus on examining gender-specific individual and health system barriers among suicide decedents as well as the quality of care offered regarding detection and treatment.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Potrebny ◽  
Nora Wiium ◽  
Anne Haugstvedt ◽  
Ragnhild Sollesnes ◽  
Bente Wold ◽  
...  

Abstract BackgroundPsychological distress among young people is increasing in Northern Europe. According to established healthcare utilization theory, this will create a greater need for youth primary healthcare and subsequently lead to more help-seeking behavior by distressed young people. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the use of youth primary healthcare services and psychological distress in times of increasing mental health problems and increased service need.MethodsThis study consisted of five waves of repeated annual cross-sectional data collected from young people (aged 13-19) living in Norway between 2014 and 2018 (n = 368,579). Population-weighted and design-adjusted generalized linear regression with a log-link was used to examine the use of youth primary healthcare services over time. ResultsWe found that a large proportion of young people use primary healthcare services and that young people with high levels of psychological distress use primary healthcare services twice as much as their peers with low levels of psychological distress. In addition, between 2014 and 2018 both psychological distress and primary healthcare service utilization increased: psychological distress increased by 5% and total primary healthcare service use increased by 500 consultations per 1000 young people. Overall, psychological distress had a conditional association with youth primary healthcare service use and could account for between 16-66% of the change in the use of services between 2014 and 2018, depending on the service type. However, the absolute increase seen in the use of primary healthcare services was mainly driven by young people with low levels of psychological distress as opposed to young people with high psychological distress. This suggest a converging trend.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that there might be serious barriers between need and help-seeking behavior for young people with high levels of psychological distress and that the pattern of utilization among young people with lower distress may indicate overuse, possibly as an inadvertent consequence of a newly introduced school absence policy. While further research is needed to confirm these findings, our work may inform healthcare providers and policy makers about primary healthcare utilization trends among young people.


QJM ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 114 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hisham Ahmed Ramy ◽  
Reem Elsayed Hashem ◽  
Marwa Esameldin Khamis ◽  
Aya Alaa Said Abdelaziz

Abstract Background ADHD is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders. Despite the presence of evidence based approved diagnosing and treatment tools for ADHD, there still is an underdiagnoses and underutilization of these services. Untreated ADHD, unlike what some families may believe, doesn’t go away on its own, in fact, the condition may get worse with age, affecting more domains of the child’s life as an adolescent and later on as an adult. In addition, untreated ADHD impacts not only the patient, but also the family and the society as a whole. Objective to investigate different routes that parents take before reaching the child and adolescence psychiatric services. And to further explore various reasons for any delay in seeking psychiatric help. In addition we aimed to estimate the duration of untreated ADHD before patients receive proper psychiatric service and treatment. Patients and Methods A total of 350 cases were recruited in a cross sectional study that took place at the Child and Adolescence outpatient clinic at Abbassia mental health hospital in Cairo, Egypt. Results Results showed that the average delay in seeking Child and Adolescence psychiatric service and the duration of untreated ADHD was 3±2 years. The majority of parents, 27.1%, first consulted pediatricians as regards to their child’s symptoms. The most commonly reported source of referral was school teachers in 23.1%. The most distressing symptom stated by 28.1% of parents was impulsivity. Stigma of mental illness was the most frequently reported reason for delay in reaching out for psychiatric service. Conclusion we concluded that parents tend to take other routes through different professions before reaching Child and Adolescence Mental Health Services, this causes subsequent delay in receiving diagnosis and treatment for ADHD. In Addition, it was concluded that sociocultural beliefs affected parent’s pattern of help seeking.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Potrebny ◽  
Nora Wiium ◽  
Anne Haugstvedt ◽  
Ragnhild Sollesnes ◽  
Bente Wold ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Psychological distress among young people is increasing in Northern Europe. According to established healthcare utilization theory, this will create a greater need for youth primary healthcare and subsequently lead to more help-seeking behavior by distressed young people. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the use of youth primary healthcare services and psychological distress in times of increasing mental health problems and increased service need.Methods This study consisted of five waves of repeated annual cross-sectional data collected from young people (aged 13-19) living in Norway between 2014 and 2018 (n = 368,579). Population-weighted and design-adjusted generalized linear regression with a log-link was used to examine the use of youth primary healthcare services over time. Results We found that a large proportion of young people use primary healthcare services and that young people with high levels of psychological distress use primary healthcare services twice as much as their peers with low levels of psychological distress. In addition, between 2014 and 2018 both psychological distress and primary healthcare service utilization increased: psychological distress increased by 5% and total primary healthcare service use increased by 300 consultations per 1000 young people. Overall, psychological distress had a conditional association with youth primary healthcare service use and could account for between 16-66% of the change in the use of services between 2014 and 2018, depending on the service type. However, the absolute increase seen in the use of primary healthcare services was mainly driven by young people with low levels of psychological distress as opposed to young people with high psychological distress. This suggest a converging trend.Conclusions Our findings suggest that there might be serious barriers between need and help-seeking behavior for young people with high levels of psychological distress and that the pattern of utilization among young people with lower distress may indicate overuse, possibly as an inadvertent consequence of a newly introduced school absence policy. While further research is needed to confirm these findings, our work may inform healthcare providers and policy makers about primary healthcare utilization trends among young people.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Potrebny ◽  
Nora Wiium ◽  
Anne Haugstvedt ◽  
Ragnhild Sollesnes ◽  
Bente Wold ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Psychological distress among young people is increasing in Northern Europe. According to established healthcare utilization theory, this will create a greater need for youth primary healthcare and subsequently lead to more help-seeking behavior by distressed young people. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the use of youth primary healthcare services and psychological distress in times of increasing mental health problems and increased service need. Methods This study consisted of five waves of repeated annual cross-sectional data collected from young people (aged 13-19) living in Norway between 2014 and 2018 ( n = 368,579). Population-weighted and design-adjusted generalized linear regression with a log-link was used to examine the use of youth primary healthcare services over time.Results We found that a large proportion of young people use primary healthcare services and that young people with high levels of psychological distress use primary healthcare services twice as much as their peers with low levels of psychological distress. In addition, between 2014 and 2018 both psychological distress and primary healthcare service utilization increased: psychological distress increased by 5% and total primary healthcare service use increased by 300 consultations per 1000 young people. Overall, psychological distress had a conditional association with youth primary healthcare service use and could account for between 16-66% of the change in the use of services between 2014 and 2018, depending on the service type. However, the absolute increase seen in the use primary healthcare services was mainly driven by young people with low levels of psychological distress as opposed to young people with high psychological distress. This suggest a converging trend.Conclusions Our findings suggest that there might be serious barriers between need and help-seeking behavior for young people with high levels of psychological distress and that the pattern of utilization among young people with lower distress may indicate overuse, possibly as an inadvertent consequence of a newly introduced school absence policy. While further research is needed to confirm these findings, our work may inform healthcare providers and policy makers about primary healthcare utilization trends among young people.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aprezo Pardodi Maba ◽  
Mulawarman ◽  
Ma'rifatin Indah Kholili ◽  
Anugrah Intan Cahyani ◽  
kushendar ◽  
...  

Background: This study was conducted based on many studies on mental health problems during the Covid-19 pandemic and the urgency for the availability of mental health services. Unfortunately, research related to help-seeking intention for mental health in general public, particularly in Indonesia, is very limited. Meanwhile, several studies have shown that help-seeking intention is a good predictor whether someone will attend mental health services or not.Objective: The aims of this study are to determine the sources of help that are most soughtafter and the factors predicting help-seeking intention during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: Online instruments consist of demographical questions, 11 items of General Helpseeking Questionnaire (GHSQ) (Wilson, Deane, Ciarrochi, &amp; Rickwood, 2005), 7 items of Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) (Ahorsu et al., 2020), and 5 items of Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) (Lee, 2020) were distributed via email, Facebook messenger, and Whatsapp during August 11 – 21, 2020. The data were analyzed using multiple linear regression and multivariate logistic regression.Results: The results showed that parents were the most sought-after source of help during the COVID-19 pandemic. While age, education, occupation, living in infected area, and fear significantly predict help-seeking intention. Meanwhile, the factors significantly predict the level of help-seeking intention are anxiety and fear.Limitations: This research uses a cross-sectional design. Therefore, it cannot test help-seeking intention after data collection. Furthermore, data was obtained using the self-report method which depends on the participants' ability to understand the items of the questionnaire. Conclusion: The results showed that parents were the main choice of the participants if they seek for help. Therefore, it is important for parents to be equipped with skills in providing mental health help for their children or relatives. Moreover, all parties should be equipped and trained to provide mental health help. Mental health services should be provided to various demographical background of general public during of COVID-19 pandemic. The attention of mental health services should be directed to the not infected area as well rather than infected area only.


Author(s):  
Anu E. Castaneda ◽  
Katja Çilenti ◽  
Shadia Rask ◽  
Eero Lilja ◽  
Natalia Skogberg ◽  
...  

Mounting evidence suggests that migration background increases the risk of mental ill health, but that problems exist in accessing healthcare services in people of migrant origin. The present study uses a combination of register- and survey-based data to examine mental health-related health service use in three migrant origin populations as well as the correspondence between the need and use of services. The data are from the Finnish Migrant Health and Wellbeing Study (Maamu), a comprehensive cross-sectional interview and a health examination survey. A random sample consisted of 5909 working-aged adults of Russian, Somali, and Kurdish origin of which 3000 were invited to participate in the survey and the rest were drawn for a register-based approach. Some of the mental health services, based on registers, were more prevalent in the Kurdish origin group in comparison with the general population and less prevalent in the Russian and Somali origin groups. All the migrant origin groups were underrepresented in rehabilitation services. When affective symptoms were taken into account, all the migrant origin groups were underrepresented in all of the services. This calls for actions to promote mental health, diminish the barriers to access services, and improve the service paths for migrants.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Potrebny ◽  
Nora Wiium ◽  
Anne Haugstvedt ◽  
Ragnhild Sollesnes ◽  
Bente Wold ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Psychological distress among young people is increasing in Northern Europe. According to established healthcare utilization theory, this will create a greater need for youth primary healthcare and subsequently lead to more help-seeking behavior by distressed young people. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the use of youth primary healthcare services and psychological distress in times of increasing mental health problems and increased service need. Methods This study consisted of five waves of repeated annual cross-sectional data collected from young people (aged 13–19) living in Norway between 2014 and 2018 (n = 368,579). Population-weighted and design-adjusted generalized linear regression with a log-link was used to examine the use of youth primary healthcare services over time. Results We found that a large proportion of young people use primary healthcare services and that young people with high levels of psychological distress use primary healthcare services twice as much as their peers with low levels of psychological distress. In addition, between 2014 and 2018 both psychological distress and primary healthcare service utilization increased: psychological distress increased by 5% and total primary healthcare service use increased by 500 consultations per 1000 young people. Overall, psychological distress had a conditional association with youth primary healthcare service use and could account for between 16 and 66% of the change in the use of services between 2014 and 2018, depending on the service type. However, the absolute increase seen in the use of primary healthcare services was mainly driven by young people with low levels of psychological distress as opposed to young people with high psychological distress. This suggest a converging trend. Conclusions Our findings suggest that there might be serious barriers between need and help-seeking behavior for young people with high levels of psychological distress and that the pattern of utilization among young people with lower distress may indicate overuse, possibly as an inadvertent consequence of a newly introduced school absence policy. While further research is needed to confirm these findings, our work may inform healthcare providers and policy makers about primary healthcare utilization trends among young people.


Author(s):  
Caspar C. Berghout ◽  
Jolien Zevalkink ◽  
Abraham N. J. Pieters ◽  
Gregory J. Meyer

In this study we used a quasiexperimental, cross-sectional design with six cohorts differing in phase of treatment (pretreatment, posttreatment, 2-year posttreatment) and treatment type (psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy) and investigated scores on 39 Rorschach-CS variables. The total sample consisted of 176 participants from four mental health care organizations in The Netherlands. We first examined pretreatment differences between patients entering psychoanalysis and patients entering psychoanalytic psychotherapy. The two treatment groups did not seem to differ substantially before treatment, with the exception of the level of ideational problems. Next, we studied the outcome of psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy by comparing the Rorschach-CS scores of the six groups of patients. In general, we found significant differences between pretreatment and posttreatment on a relatively small number of Rorschach-CS variables. More pre/post differences were found between the psychoanalytic psychotherapy groups than between the psychoanalysis groups. More research is needed to examine whether analyzing clusters of variables might reveal other results.


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (03) ◽  
pp. 152-157
Author(s):  
A. O. Berg ◽  
K. Leopold ◽  
S. Zarafonitis-Müller ◽  
M. Nerhus ◽  
L. H. Stouten ◽  
...  

Summary Background: Immigrants have increased risk of a poor recovery from first episode psychosis (FEP). Early treatment can improve prognosis, but having an immigrant background may influence pathways to care. Method: We present research of service use and factors influencing treatment outcome in immigrants with FEP. Service use was assessed in in-patients at an early intervention center in Berlin, Germany. Duration of untreated psychosis and beliefs about illness was assessed in a FEP study in Oslo, Norway and cognitive functioning in patients with FEP schizophrenia from the regular mental health services in The Hague, the Netherlands. The proportion of immigrants in Berlin and Oslo was at level with the local populations, while the proportion in The Hague appeared to be higher. Result: There were clear indications that mental health literacy, probably based in different cultural expectations, were lower in first generation immigrants (FGI). Findings regarding clinical insight were ambiguous. There were also indications that FGI had more cognitive problems, based in higher stress levels or in cognitive styles. Early psychosis services must take issues of immigration and ethnicity into consideration.


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