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Australian adolescents' beliefs and help-seeking intentions towards peers experiencing symptoms of depression and alcohol misuse.

ABSTRACT: Many young people are reluctant to seek professional help for mental health problems, preferring to rely on their friends for support. It is therefore important to ensure that adolescents can identify signs of psychological distress in their peers, talk to them about these, and help them access appropriate services when necessary. The current study examined adolescents' ability to recognise symptoms of depression and alcohol misuse, perceived barriers to help-seeking, and their intentions to encourage a peer to seek help from a range of informal and formal help sources.The current study used baseline data from a randomised controlled trial of a school-based intervention that teaches adolescents how to overcome barriers to accessing professional help for mental health and substance use problems (MAKINGtheLINK). Participants (n = 2456) were presented with two vignettes portraying depression and alcohol misuse, respectively, and were asked to identify the problems described. Participants provided data on their past help-seeking behaviour, confidence to help a peer, perceived barriers to help-seeking, and intentions to encourage a peer to seek help.Health professionals were the main source of help that participants had relied on for depressive symptoms, followed by friends and parents. In contrast, friends were the main source of help that participants had relied on for alcohol and other drug problems, followed by health professionals and parents. Just over half of the sample correctly identified the problems described in the two vignettes, although the majority of participants were confident that they could talk to a peer and help them seek professional help if needed. Most agreed that the vignettes described problems that warranted professional help, however approximately half the sample was unsure or considered it unlikely that they would seek help if they experienced similar problems. For both disorders, participants were most likely to encourage a peer to seek help from their family, followed by formal help sources and friends.While the results point towards a greater willingness to approach formal help sources, particularly for depression, peers remain an important source of support for young people experiencing mental health and substance use problems.

SUBMITTER: Lubman DI

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5559792 | biostudies-other | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Project description:ObjectiveTo identify the factors associated with 12-month mental health service use in primary care patients with depressive symptoms.DesignCross-sectional followed by 12-month cohort study.Setting and participants10 179 adult patients were recruited from the waiting rooms of 59 primary care clinics across Hong Kong to complete a questionnaire which screened for depression. 518 screened-positive participants formed the cohort and were telephoned at 3, 6 and 12 months to monitor mental health service use.Primary and secondary outcomes▸ Help-seeking preferences; ▸ Intention to seek help from a healthcare professional; ▸ 12-month mental health service use.ResultsAt baseline, when asked who they would seek help from if they thought they were depressed, respondents preferred using friends and family (46.5%) over a psychiatrist (24.9%), psychologist (22.8%) or general practitioner (GP; 19.9%). The presence of depressive symptoms was associated with a lower intention to seek help from family and friends but had no effect on intention to seek help from a healthcare professional. Over 12 months, 24.3% of the screened-positive cohort reported receiving services from a mental health professional. Factors associated with service use included identification of depression by the GP at baseline, having a past history of depression or other mental illness, and being a public sector patient. Having a positive intention to seek professional help or more severe depressive symptoms at baseline was not associated with a greater likelihood of receiving treatment.ConclusionsMental health service use appears to be very low in this setting with only one in four primary care patients with depressive symptoms receiving treatment from a psychiatrist, GP or psychologist over a year. To help reduce the burden of illness, better detection of depressive disorders is needed especially for patients who may be undertreated such as those with no prior diagnosis of depression and those with more severe symptoms.

Project description:Background: Epidemiological studies have reported high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among asylum seekers from Sub-Saharan Africa. In order to provide appropriate and culturally sensitive mental health care for this group, further knowledge about treatment preferences might be necessary. Objective: We aimed to provide insights into help-seeking intentions and lay beliefs about cures for PTSD held by asylum seekers from Sub-Saharan Africa living in Germany. Methods: To address this objective, we used a quantitative and qualitative methodological triangulation strategy based on a vignette describing symptoms of PTSD. In the quantitative part of the study, asylum seekers (n = 119), predominantly from Eritrea (n = 41), Somalia (n = 36), and Cameroon (n = 25), and a German comparison sample without a migration background (n = 120) completed the General Help-Seeking Questionnaire (GHSQ). In the qualitative part, asylum seekers (n = 26) reviewed the results of the questionnaire survey within eight focus group discussions sampled from groups of the three main countries of origin. Results: Asylum seekers showed a high intention to seek religious, medical, and psychological treatment for symptoms of PTSD. However, asylum seekers indicated a higher preference to seek help from religious authorities and general practitioners, as well as a lower preference to enlist psychological and traditional help sources than Germans without a migration background. Furthermore, asylum seekers addressed structural and cultural barriers to seeking medical and psychological treatment. Conclusion: To facilitate access to local health care systems for asylum seekers and refugees, it might be crucial to develop public health campaigns in collaboration with religious communities. When treating asylum seekers and refugees from Sub-Saharan Africa, practitioners should explore different religious and cultural frameworks for healing and recovery in order to signal understanding and acceptance of varying cultural contexts.

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Australian adolescents' beliefs and help-seeking intentions towards peers experiencing symptoms of depression and alcohol misuse.

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