Perceived Social Support and the Voluntary, Mixed, or Pressured Use of Mental Health Services

Abstract

The network-episode model of service utilization and self-labeling theory underscore the importance of significant others in averting or prompting individuals’ entry into mental health treatment. Drawing from these approaches, three hypotheses are tested: (1) Social support generally reduces the likelihood of treatment entry, but (2) when individuals’ mental conditions are more serious, supportive relationships instead raise the probability of mental health utilization, and (3) for persons with greater social support, the more severe their mental disorders, the more likely they will enter treatment under pressure or with mixed volition. Data from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication are used to test these hypotheses ( N = 5,692). Results confirm expectations. Findings also show that persons with greater social support perceived less need for mental health services, suggesting that supportive relationships might substitute for formal treatment or perhaps delay treatment seeking. Unmet need for psychiatric services may not be as great as indicated by low rates of service utilization among persons with disorders.