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Factors influencing treatment-seeking behavior in problem headache sufferers
1University of Mississippi Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Jackson 39216.
Headache
|July 1, 1994
Summary
Research on recurrent headaches often uses treatment-seeking individuals. This study found that while treatment-seekers have more frequent and longer-lasting headaches, psychological symptoms do not influence their decision to seek help for headache disorders.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Psychology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Research on recurrent headache disorders (tension-type or migraine) often relies on samples of individuals seeking or receiving treatment.
- This sampling method may limit the external validity of findings, as treatment-seeking individuals may not represent the broader population of headache sufferers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare young recurrent headache sufferers who had sought treatment with those who had not sought treatment.
- To investigate the association between psychological symptoms, coping strategies, beliefs, and treatment-seeking behavior in recurrent headache sufferers.
- To compare headache sufferers (both treatment-seeking and non-treatment-seeking) with individuals who do not experience headaches.
Main Methods:
- Examined young recurrent headache sufferers, comparing individuals who had sought treatment (N=81) and those who had not sought treatment (N=109).
- Included a comparison group of individuals who did not experience headaches (N=129).
- Assessed psychological symptoms, coping strategies, beliefs about headache disorder, headache frequency, duration, and physical symptoms.
Main Results:
- Recurrent headache sufferers who sought treatment reported more frequent headaches and a longer duration of problem headaches compared to those who did not seek treatment.
- No significant differences were found between treatment-seeking and non-treatment-seeking groups regarding psychological symptoms, coping strategies, or beliefs about their headache disorder.
- Recurrent headache sufferers, regardless of treatment-seeking status, reported higher levels of depression and physical symptoms than the comparison group.
Conclusions:
- The study found no support for the hypothesis that psychological symptoms or neuroticism are associated with treatment-seeking behavior in recurrent headache sufferers.
- Headache frequency and duration, rather than psychological factors, appear to differentiate between individuals who seek treatment and those who do not.
- Recurrent headache sufferers experience greater psychological distress and physical symptoms compared to the general population, irrespective of seeking treatment.
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