Family History of Mental Health Disorders and Parental Help-Seeking for Behavioral Health Concerns in Pediatric Primary Care Offices.

Abstract

Pediatric mental health needs are common in primary care, but many children never access treatment. With parents as a critical gatekeeper, it is important to identify barriers and facilitators to treatment access and explore the role of family history. Parents/caregivers (N = 1,763) with children aged 3-17 years were recruited in the original study and participated in a 71-item survey that addressed mental health-related communication. An association was found between family history of mental health disorders and recognition of behavioral concerns, and between anxiety/depression disorders and sharing of concerns. In addition, parents with a family history were less likely to feel completely satisfied with time spent discussing mental health or with how the provider answered questions. Although fear of stigma has been previously cited in the literature as a barrier to accessing treatment, findings suggest a family history of mental health disorders can facilitate parental help-seeking steps.