Help-seeking by rural residents for mental health problems: the importance of agrarian values

• Published in: Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry Vol. 40; no. 9; p. 769
• Main Authors: Judd, Fiona, Jackson, Henry, Komiti, Angela, Murray, Greg, Fraser, Caitlin, Grieve, Aaron, Gomez, Rapson
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01.09.2006
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Attitude to Health; Community Mental Health Services - utilization; Cross-Sectional Studies; Demography; Disability Evaluation; Female; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Health Services Needs and Demand; Humans; Male; Mental Disorders - epidemiology; Mental Disorders - therapy; Middle Aged; Patient Acceptance of Health Care; Predictive Value of Tests; Reproducibility of Results; Rural Population; Sex Factors; Surveys and Questionnaires
• ISSN: 0004-8674
• DOI: 10.1080/j.1440-1614.2006.01882.x

To examine the role of stoicism, self-efficacy and perceived stigma in predicting help-seeking by rural residents, for mental health problems. A cross-sectional community survey was conducted with a sample of 467 rural residents (58% female), who completed self-report questionnaires assessing current levels of symptomatology, disability, perceived stigma, self-efficacy, stoicism, attitudes towards and experience of seeking help for psychological problems. Overall, 27.6% (n=129) of respondents had sought help from a general practitioner and/or mental halth professional for psychological problems or a mental health issue. More women than men reported having sought such help. Lifetime help-seeking for a psychological problem or mental health issue was positively associated with higher levels of distress and lower levels of stoicism and, to a lesser extent, lower levels of self-efficacy. Efforts to improve help-seeking by rural residents for mental health problems should focus on understanding and addressing attitudes, such as stoicism which act as barriers to help-seeking.