Intentions and barriers to help-seeking in adolescents and young adults differing in depression severity: cross-sectional results from a school-based mental health project.

Autor: Baldofski S; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany., Scheider J; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany., Kohls E; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany.; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany., Klemm SL; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany., Koenig J; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany., Bauer S; Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, Center for Psychotherapy Research, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.; German Center for Mental Health (DZPG), partner site Mannheim/Heidelberg/Ulm, Mannheim, Germany., Moessner M; Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, Center for Psychotherapy Research, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany., Kaess M; University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany., Eschenbeck H; Department of Psychology, University of Education Schwäbisch Gmünd, Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany., Lehner L; Department of Psychology, University of Education Schwäbisch Gmünd, Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany., Becker K; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty of the Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.; Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), University of Marburg and Justus Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany., Krämer J; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty of the Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany., Diestelkamp S; German Center for Addiction Research in Childhood and Adolescence, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany., Thomasius R; German Center for Addiction Research in Childhood and Adolescence, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany., Rummel-Kluge C; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany. Christine.Rummel-Kluge@medizin.uni-leipzig.de.; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany. Christine.Rummel-Kluge@medizin.uni-leipzig.de.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health [Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health] 2024 Jul 15; Vol. 18 (1), pp. 84. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jul 15.
DOI: 10.1186/s13034-024-00775-3
Abstrakt: Background: Mental health problems, such as depression, have a high prevalence in young people. However, the majority of youths suffering from depression do not seek professional help. This study aimed to compare help-seeking behavior, intentions and perceived barriers between youthswith different levels of depressive symptoms.
Methods: This cross-sectional study is part of a large-scale, multi-center project. Participants were n = 9509 youths who were recruited in German schools and completed a baseline screening questionnaire. Based on their depressive symptoms, youths were allocated to the following three subgroups: (a) without depressive symptoms, (b) with subclinical symptoms, (c) with clinical symptoms (measured by PHQ-A). Quantitative analyses compared previous help-seeking behavior, help-seeking intentions and perceived barriers (Barriers questionnaire) between these subgroups. An additional exploratory qualitative content analysis examined text answers on other perceived barriers to help-seeking.
Results: Participants were mostly female (n = 5575, 58.6%) and 12 to 24 years old (M = 15.09, SD 2.37). Participants with different levels of depressive symptoms differed significantly in help-seeking behavior, intentions and perceived barriers. Specifically, participants with clinical depressive symptoms reported more previous help-seeking, but lower intentions to seek help compared to participants without symptoms (all p < 0.05). Participants with subclinical depressive symptoms reported a similar frequency of previous help-seeking, but higher intentions to seek help compared to participants without symptoms (all p < 0.05). Perception of barriers was different across subgroups: participants with clinical and subclinical depressive symptoms perceived the majority of barriers such as stigma, difficulties in accessibility, and family-related barriers as more relevant than participants without depressive symptoms. Across all subgroups, participants frequently mentioned intrapersonal reasons, a high need for autonomy, and a lack of mental health literacy as barriers to help-seeking.
Conclusions: Youths with higher levels of depressive symptoms are more reluctant to seek professional help and perceive higher barriers. This underlines the need for effective and low-threshold interventions to tackle barriers, increase help-seeking, and lower depressive symptoms in adolescents and young adults differing in depression severity.
Trial Registration: DRKS00014685.
(© 2024. The Author(s).)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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