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Longitudinal determinants of mental health treatment-seeking by US soldiers
Amy B Adler1, Thomas W Britt2, Lyndon A Riviere2
1Amy B. Adler, PhD, Military Psychiatry Branch, Center for Military Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, Maryland; Thomas W. Britt, PhD, Department of Psychology, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina; Lyndon A. Riviere, PhD, Paul Y. Kim, MA, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Department of Military Psychiatry, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA; Jeffrey L. Thomas, PhD, US Army Medical Research Unit - Europe, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Sembach/Heuberg, Germany amy.b.adler.civ@mail.mil.
Background:
Studies with members of the armed forces have found a gap between reports of mental health symptoms and treatment-seeking.
Aims:
To assess the impact of attitudes on treatment-seeking behaviours in soldiers returning from a combat deployment.
Method:
A sample of 529 US soldiers were surveyed 4 months (time 1) and 12 months (time 2) post-deployment. Mental health symptoms and treatment-seeking attitudes were assessed at time 1; reported mental healthcare visits were assessed at time 2.
Results:
Factor analysis of the total time 1 sample revealed four attitude factors: professional concerns, practical barriers, preference for self-management and positive attitudes about treatment. For the subset of 160 soldiers reporting a mental health problem at time 1, and controlling for mental health symptom severity, self-management inversely predicted treatment-seeking; positive attitudes were positively related.
Conclusions:
Results demonstrate the importance of broadening the conceptualisation of barriers and facilitators of mental healthcare beyond stigma. Techniques and delivery models emphasising self-care may help increase soldiers' interest in using mental health services.
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