Dataset Information

Responses to persuasive messages encouraging professional help seeking for depression: comparison between individuals with and without psychological distress.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The persuasive effect of health messages can depend on message features, audience characteristics, and target behaviors. The objective of this study was to compare the responses to persuasive messages encouraging professional help seeking for depression between individuals with and without psychological distress.

Methods

A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted on Japanese adults aged 35-45 years, who randomly received one of three persuasive messages that aimed to promote help-seeking intentions for depression. The primary message statements were as follows: (1) depression can happen to anyone, (2) depression needs treatment, and (3) depression improves with treatment. Participants rated the messages in terms of comprehensibility, persuasiveness, emotional response, and intended future use. Help-seeking intention for depression was measured using vignette methodology before and after exposure to the messages. Eligible participants who had not received medical treatment for their mental disorders were classified as either distressed (K6 score???5, N?=?824) or non-distressed (K6 score?ResultsNo significant differences in comprehensibility or persuasiveness scores were observed between the messages, but the distressed group had significantly lower scores than the non-distressed group. Negative emotional responses such as surprise, anger, fear, sadness, guilt, and anxiety were significantly stronger when reading message 2, while a positive emotional response such as happiness was significantly stronger when reading message 3. These emotional responses were more prominent in the distressed than in the non-distressed group. After reading messages 1, 2, and 3, the proportions of participants in the distressed group who reported having a positive help-seeking intention increased by 35.1%, 32.1%, and 27.7%, respectively, and by 6.4%, 17.3%, and 15.2%, respectively in the non-distressed group. Multiple logistic regression analysis among participants having no help-seeking intention before exposure to the messages showed that message 2 had a significantly greater effect of increasing help-seeking intentions in the non-distressed group.

Conclusion

The exposure to persuasive messages may promote help-seeking intentions for depression. It seems likely that loss framing will work better than neutral and gain framing. Meanwhile, the responses to persuasive messages may differ to some extent between distressed and non-distressed individuals, as individuals with psychological distress are likely to be more susceptible to persuasive messages than those without.

Trial registration

Not applicable; this is not a report of intervention trial.

SUBMITTER: Suka M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6507167 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Responses to persuasive messages encouraging professional help seeking for depression: comparison between individuals with and without psychological distress.

Suka Machi M Yamauchi Takashi T Yanagisawa Hiroyuki H

Environmental health and preventive medicine 20190508 1

<h4>Background</h4>The persuasive effect of health messages can depend on message features, audience characteristics, and target behaviors. The objective of this study was to compare the responses to persuasive messages encouraging professional help seeking for depression between individuals with and without psychological distress.<h4>Methods</h4>A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted on Japanese adults aged 35-45 years, who randomly received one of three persuasive messages that aimed ...[more]

PMID: 31068125

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Project description:BackgroundAdolescents and young adults often suffer from depression, but tend to avoid seeking professional help. The aim of this study was to explore the reasons for non-professional-help-seeking in a sample of young adults resident in Catalonia with depressive symptoms through a qualitative study. In addition, the subjects were invited to offer their recommendations for making mental health care services more accessible.MethodsWe recruited 105 young persons (17-21 years of age) who had participated in a national survey on adolescents. The sample was divided into thirds, with 37 who had a previous diagnosis of depression, 33 who had self-perceived emotional distress, and 35 controls. The participants were interviewed in depth about their reasons for avoiding professional mental health care services, and the interview results were analyzed using both qualitative and cultural domain techniques and corroborated through comparison with the results of three focus groups.ResultsParticipants' reasons for avoidance varied both by gender and according to prior experience with health services. Male study participants and female controls mainly understood depressive symptoms as normal and therefore not requiring treatment. Female participants with self-perceived distress were more likely to cite problems of access to treatment and fear of speaking to an unknown person about their problems. Females with a diagnosis expressed lack of trust in the benefits of treatment and fear of the social consequences of help-seeking. In their recommendations for best practices, the study participants suggested educational initiatives, as well as changes in the organization of mental health care services.ConclusionsA better understanding of the views of young people and a greater effort to involve them as active participants is important for facilitating help-seeking in this age group, and for adapting mental health care services to adolescent users and their social context.

Project description:ObjectiveTo examine audience's responses to differently framed and formatted persuasive messages in the context of developing depression help-seeking messages.DesignCross-sectional followed by 2-month follow-up study.Setting and participantsA web-based survey was conducted in July 2017 among Japanese adults aged 35-45 years. There were 1957 eligible respondents without psychiatric history. Of these, 1805 people (92.2%) completed the 2-month follow-up questionnaire.Main outcome measuresSix depression help-seeking messages were prepared with three frames (neutral, loss and gain framed)×2 formats (formatted and unformatted). Participants were asked to rate one of the messages in terms of comprehensibility, persuasiveness, emotional responses, design quality and intended future use. Help-seeking intention for depression was measured using vignette methodology before and after exposure to the messages. Subsequent 2-month help-seeking action for their own mental health (medical service use) was monitored by the follow-up survey.ResultsThe loss-framed messages more strongly induced negative emotions (surprise, fear, sadness and anxiety), while the gain-framed messages more strongly induced a positive emotion (happiness). The message formatting applied the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Clear Communication Index, enhanced the emotional responses and increased the likelihood that the message will be read. The loss-framed formatted message alone had a significantly greater OR of having help-seeking intention for depression compared with the neutral-framed unformatted message as a reference group. All messages had little impact on maintaining help-seeking intention or increasing help-seeking action.ConclusionMessage framing and formatting may influence emotional responses to the depression help-seeking message, willingness to read the message and intention to seek help for depression. It would be recommendable to apply loss framing and formatting to depression help-seeking messages, to say the least, but further studies are needed to find a way to sustain the effect of messaging for a long time.

Project description:BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying restrictions are associated with substantial psychological distress. However, it is unclear how this increased strain translates into help-seeking behavior. Here, we aim to characterize those individuals who seek help for COVID-19 related psychological distress, and examine which factors are associated with their levels of distress in order to better characterize vulnerable groups.MethodsWe report data from 1269 help-seeking participants subscribing to a stepped-care program targeted at mental health problems due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sample characteristics were compared to population data, and linear regression analyses were used to examine which risk factors and stressors were associated with current symptom levels.ResultsSeeking for help for COVID-19 related psychological distress was characterized by female gender, younger age, and better education compared to the general population. The majority reported mental health problems already before the pandemic. 74.5% of this help-seeking sample also exceeded clinical thresholds for depression, anxiety, or somatization. Higher individual symptom levels were associated with higher overall levels of pandemic stress, younger age, and pre-existing mental health problems, but were buffered by functional emotion regulation strategies.ConclusionsResults suggest a considerable increase in demand for mental-healthcare in the pandemic aftermath. Comparisons with the general population indicate diverging patterns in help-seeking behavior: while some individuals seek help themselves, others should be addressed directly. Individuals that are young, have pre-existing mental health problems and experience a high level of pandemic stress are particularly at-risk for considerable symptom load. Mental-healthcare providers should use these results to prepare for the significant increase in demand during the broader aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as allocate limited resources more effectively.

Dataset Information

Responses to persuasive messages encouraging professional help seeking for depression: comparison between individuals with and without psychological distress.

Background

Methods

Conclusion

Trial registration

Publications

Responses to persuasive messages encouraging professional help seeking for depression: comparison between individuals with and without psychological distress.

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