Age and mental health services

This paper examines how age is related to the use of formal and informal mental health services, adjustment to current life conditions, and expectations for improvement in future life conditions among a group of persons with serious mental illnesses. Interviews with 301 clients of 3 clinics at a public psychiatric facility serving West Brooklyn and Staten Island provide the data from the study. Outcome measures include nine sorts of help received from informal members of the social network and from mental health professionals; desires to improve current life conditions; and expectations for future improvements in life conditions. Through hierarchical regression procedures we examine the impact of age on these outcomes, with controls for self-reported symptoms and functioning, sex, and the presence of social network members. The results indicate that younger people receive more help from both informal social networks and from mental health professionals. In addition, younger people are more likely to want improvements in their current life conditions and to be optimistic about what the future holds for them. The decline in informal and formal support, optimism, and desire to improve their current life situations among older clients may be cause for concern among mental health professionals. Mental health service providers should give greater recognition to the impact of age on mental health service needs among persons with serious mental illnesses.