TY - JOUR
T1 - Help-seeking behaviour in men and women with common mental health problems
T2 - Cross-sectional study
AU - Oliver, Isabel
AU - Pearson, Nicky
AU - Coe, Nicola
AU - Gunnell, David
PY - 2005/4
Y1 - 2005/4
N2 - Background: Many people with mental health problems do not seek professional help but their use of other sources of help is unclear. Aims: To 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. Method: Postal questionnaire survey, including the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), sent to a stratified random sample (n=15222) of the population of Somerset. Results: The 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. Conclusions: Health 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.
AB - Background: Many people with mental health problems do not seek professional help but their use of other sources of help is unclear. Aims: To 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. Method: Postal questionnaire survey, including the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), sent to a stratified random sample (n=15222) of the population of Somerset. Results: The 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. Conclusions: Health 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.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=17144406847&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1192/bjp.186.4.297
DO - 10.1192/bjp.186.4.297
M3 - Article
C2 - 15802685
AN - SCOPUS:17144406847
SN - 0007-1250
VL - 186
SP - 297
EP - 301
JO - British Journal of Psychiatry
JF - British Journal of Psychiatry
IS - APR.
ER -
