Socioeconomic Status and Mental Health Service Use Among National Guard Soldiers
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 13, 2026

Polar Histogram Visualization of Acute Stress Disorder Scale Scores for Comprehensive Clinical Assessment
Published on: December 6, 2024
Rebecca K Sripada1, Sarah K H Richards1, Sheila A M Rauch1
1Dr. Sripada, Ms. Walters, Ms. Ganoczy, Dr. Bohnert, and Dr. Valenstein are with the Serious Mental Illness Treatment Resource and Evaluation Center, Center for Clinical Management Research, and Ms. Richards and Dr. Rauch are with the Mental Health Service, all at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Health Care System, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dr. Sripada, Ms. Walters, Dr. Bohnert, Dr. Kees, and Dr. Valenstein are also with the Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor (e-mail: rekaufma@umich.edu ). Dr. Gorman is with the Michigan Public Health Institute, Okemos. Dr. Blow is with the Department of Family and Child Ecology, Michigan State University, East Lansing.
Objective:
Convergent evidence suggests that low socioeconomic status (SES) may be related to reduced mental health service use. However, this relationship has not been tested in the National Guard (NG) population, in which the prevalence of mental health symptoms is high.
Methods:
Surveys were completed by 1,262 NG soldiers. SES was measured by education and income. Adjusted multivariable regression models assessed associations between SES, overall service use, and use of specific types of services.
Results:
SES was not associated with overall use but was associated with use of certain types of services. Higher SES was associated with lower likelihood of psychotropic medication use (odds ratio=.83, 95% confidence interval=.72-.96), and higher SES strengthened the positive relationship between PTSD and use of individual therapy.
Conclusions:
Higher SES may increase the use of individual therapy among soldiers with PTSD. Barriers to care among individuals with low SES merit continued attention and outreach efforts.
More Related Videos
04:02Author Spotlight: Developing Precise and Clinically Relevant Models for Studying Secondary Degeneration in Traumatic Optic Neuropathy
Published on: November 29, 2024
06:55Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting Propensity Score using the Military Health System Data Repository and National Death Index
Published on: January 8, 2020
Related Concept Videos
Stress and Mental Health
Individuals with depression often experience challenges in both their personal and professional...
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
Symptoms and Behavioral Manifestations
A spectrum of distressing symptoms characterizes PTSD. Recurrent flashbacks, where individuals involuntarily relive traumatic events,...
Cognitive Dissonance
Social Relationships and Well-Being
Community Based Intervention
Foundations of Community Mental Health Programs
Central to the success of community-based interventions is the...
The Stanford Prison Experiment