Police Officer Mental Health: Predictors of and Barriers to Seeking Help

BackgroundDespite the prevalence and negative consequences of mental health issues among elite athletes, studies suggest many do not seek professional help. Understanding barriers and facilitators to help-seeking is imperative to reduce the burden of mental health symptoms and disorders.AimsThis study aimed to elucidate factors associated with actual help-seeking behavior in professional rugby football league (RFL) players in England and one club in France.DesignA mixed-methods cross-sectional online survey design was used, and completed by 167 professional RFL players.MethodsThe survey consisted of measures of mental health, perceived psychological stress, athletic identity, knowledge of player welfare, and actual help-seeking. Additionally, one open-ended question allowed free-text comments about barriers to help-seeking.ResultsThose who had sought help reported significantly higher psychological stress compared to those who had not sought help. Help-seeking was associated with better mental health literacy and higher perceived psychological stress in a multivariate analysis. The qualitative analysis revealed a number of perceived barriers to help-seeking, of which lower mental health literacy and stigma were the most prominent.ConclusionIn one of the first studies to examine actual help-seeking behavior, professional rugby players who had sought help for mental health and personal issues were characterized by having greater mental health literacy and experiencing greater psychological stress. Players also identified feelings of embarrassment, pride, fear and shame act as barriers to seeking help for mental health issues. These results suggest focusing on increasing mental health literacy and reducing stigma may increase help-seeking behavior for mental health symptoms.

BackgroundThe mental health of healthcare professionals is reaching a breaking point, and the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated current mental health issues to unprecedented levels. Whilst some research has been carried out on the barriers that doctors face when seeking mental health help, there is little research into factors which may facilitate seeking help. We aimed to expand the research base on factors which act as barriers to seeking help, as well as gain insight into facilitators of help-seeking behaviour for mental health in NHS doctors.MethodsWe conducted a systematic literature review which identified the barriers and facilitators to seeking help for mental health in healthcare professionals. Following this, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 31 NHS doctors about their experiences with mental health services. Finally, through thematic analysis, key themes were synthesised from the data.ResultsOur systematic literature review uncovered barriers and facilitators from pre-existing literature, of which the barriers were: preventing actions, self-stigma, perceived stigma, costs of seeking treatment, lack of awareness and availability of support, negative career implications, confidentiality concerns and a lack of time to seek help. Only two facilitators were found in the pre-existing literature, a positive work environment and availability of support services.Our qualitative study uncovered additional barriers and facilitators, of which the identified barriers include: a negative workplace culture, lack of openness, expectations of doctors and generational differences. The facilitators include positive views about mental health, external confidential service, better patient outcomes, protected time, greater awareness and accessibility, open culture and supportive supervisors.ConclusionOur study began by identifying barriers and facilitators to seeking mental health help in healthcare workers, through our systematic literature review. We contributed to these findings by identifying themes in qualitative data.. Our findings are crucial to identify factors preventing NHS doctors from seeking help for their mental health so that more can be done on a national, trust-wide and personal level to overcome these barriers. Likewise, further research into facilitators is key to encourage doctors to reach out and seek help for their mental health.

ABSTRACTBackground: Stigma toward substance users is a barrier to seeking treatment.Objective: The aim for this paper was to examine the psychometric properties of the Perceived Stigma Toward Substance Users (PSAS) and its relationship with help-seeking variables.Methods: College students (N = 791; nfemales = 557, 70%) responded to the PSAS and other help-seeking-related measures in an online study.Results: Confirmatory factor analysis supported a unidimensional factor structure and acceptable model fit after modifications (CFI = .961; TLI = .937; RMSEA = .067, 90% C.I. = .050 to .085; SRMR = .035). Results indicated good internal consistency estimates (α = .80; ω = .80). The PSAS was negatively associated with intent to seek treatment for substance issues and willingness to self-disclose negative emotions. The PSAS was also positively correlated with stigma associated with seeking help for mental health issues, attitudes concerning risk associated with help-seeking, self-concealment, anticipated risks associated with seeking treatment. When embedded within a larger path model that predicts intent to seek treatment for substance use issues (CFI = .925; TLI = .895; RMSEA = .061, 90%C.I. = .052 to .069; p close fit = .019; SRMR = .049), the PSAS had an incremental contribution to predicting the criterion variable even after accounting for frequency of alcohol use-related problems, and stigma and attitudes associated with seeking help for general mental health issues.Conclusion: These findings provide further reliability and validity evidence for PSAS, especially in relation to help-seeking variables. Reducing stigma toward substance users can help increase treatment utilization.

Mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression and psychosis represent a global health challenge. Stigma surrounding mental health continues to hinder help-seeking behaviours for people with mental illness and as this study demonstrates, nursing students as well. However, if student nurses are reluctant to seek help for mental health issues, how can others be expected to do so? This reluctance poses challenges in mental health nursing, impacting both care provision and nursing education. The present study seeks to explore the influence of traditional versus non-traditional mental health clinical placements on second-year nursing students' stigmatising beliefs and intentions to seek help for mental health issues. Employing a prospective cohort design using the TREND checklist, the study sampled second-year nursing students assigned to either traditional hospital-based or non-traditional recovery-focused mental health clinical placements. Using validated scales, stigmatising beliefs and help-seeking intentions were measured before and after the placements. Statistical analyses were conducted to assess changes in these variables over time and across placement settings. A significant impact of placement setting on help-seeking intentions was observed, with students in non-traditional placements showing an increased willingness to seek help. Additionally, non-traditional placements were found to significantly reduce stigmatising beliefs in all measured domains, suggesting that these settings may provide a more conducive environment for fostering positive attitudes towards mental health. Recovery-focused placements appear to offer experiences that can diminish stigma and encourage more positive perceptions and intentions related to mental health support.

To assess contagion for suicide and seeking mental health help, 128 high school students read a short vignette about a teen under stress. Half of them were told that this teen knew someone in the community who had similar problems and had committed suicide, and half were told that the teen knew someone in the community who had similar problems and had sought help from a mental health professional. A 2 (Gender of Respondent) × 2 (Gender of Victim) × 2 (Vignette: Response to Stress) analysis of variance indicated a significant main effect for response, and a significant two‐way interaction for gender of respondent and response to stress. These high school students thought contagion occurred for suicide as well as seeking mental health help. Girls tended to be more responsive to seeking help, whereas boys were slightly more responsive to suicide. An implication is that publicity about seeking help may ameliorate suicidal contagion.

Although many individuals are affected by psychological disorders, few will seek professional help. Cultural perceptions might complicate this, as emotional suppression and shame of mental illness predominate in some cultures. This online study investigated factors contributing to the stigma of seeking help among Asian ( n =81) and Euro-Caucasian ( n =472) students. Depressive symptoms mediated relations between social support and self-stigma for seeking help for mental health problems, as well as for academic problems. The role of depression in the relation between social support and other-stigma of seeking mental health and academic help differed by cultural group, in that the relation between depressive symptoms and stigma was more pronounced among Asians, suggesting that targeted efforts may need to be directed at specific populations.

COVID-19 and mental health and well-being in rural Australia.

This study built on a recent publication to explore physician assistant (PA) licensure renewal applications, as well as PA likelihood to seek help for physical or mental health conditions. We were able to obtain licensure renewal applications from 47 states. A national survey was then conducted to explore the connection between licensure questions and help-seeking behavior. Only 18 states were consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in their approach to initial and renewal applications. Thirty-five percent of PAs expressed reluctance to seek help for a mental health issue due to concerns about licensure repercussions. States with applications that were inconsistent with the ADA were significantly more likely to express these concerns. Considerable stigma exists among PAs regarding seeking help for mental health issues. Problematic licensure questions increase this reluctance. Advocacy is needed to reduce stigma of mental health and substance use, and to modernize licensure applications.

Health Beliefs and Help Seeking for Depressive and Anxiety Disorders Among Urban Singaporean Adults

PurposeTraditional masculinity ideologies dictate men should be tough, self-reliant and display restrictive emotionality. Men who seek mental health services, a behavior that typically involves expressing feelings and showing dependence, are often subject to stigma. The purpose of the study is to examine the gendered perceptions of men who seek help for mental health concerns, as well as how masculine advertisements moderate these perceptions.Design/methodology/approachAfter viewing either masculine or control advertisements, participants read descriptions of men who sought help for psychological or physical symptoms and provided masculinity ratings in a task ostensibly unrelated to the advertisements.FindingsAcross two experiments, participants perceived the male target who sought help for psychological symptoms, a behavior incongruent with the traditional masculinity ideologies, as less masculine than his counterpart seeking help for physical symptoms. Importantly, exposure to masculine advertisements attenuated the gendered perceptions for psychological help-seeking: viewing masculine advertisements led participants to deliberately reflect on society’s expectations for men to be physically masculine and tough and the extent to which men should conform to these standards. These reflections counteract the effect of stigma on the gendered perceptions of men seeking help for mental health concerns.Originality/valueThe representation of men as masculine and rugged in advertisements is believed to contribute to public perceptions of men seeking help for mental health concerns. Yet the current research demonstrates an unexpected effect of viewing masculine advertisements in attenuating the gendered perceptions of men’s help-seeking.

An important effect often overlooked in prevention-based programs is the possibility that positive experiences with a youth development program before youth problems arise may influence families’ willingness to seek mental health support in the future. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of one such youth development program on caregivers’ future intentions to seek help for mental health issues. One hundred twenty-four adolescents (M age = 11.98 years; 87.4 % female; 86.6 % African-American) and 135 caregivers (M age = 37.49 years; 82.1 % female; 80.7 % African-American) participated in a 6-week youth development program that included physical activity and a curriculum consistent with typical youth development programs (self-expression, drug awareness, sexual education, and conflict resolution skills). Prior service utilization, program satisfaction, and initial help-seeking intentions were included as predictors of intentions for seeking help after program completion. Families’ willingness to seek help for child mental health trended towards an increase post-program but did not change in a statistically significant way. Contrary to expectations, child and parent program satisfaction did not mediate any change in help-seeking. This study illustrates that satisfaction with an initial low-dose youth development program does not necessarily bolster most families’ interest in accessing future services, but could be a pathway to future services for some. Future evaluations should continue to assess the long-term effects of program participation to better understand causal mechanisms of shifting attitudes towards seeking more help.

Postpartum is a vulnerable period for women's health, and postpartum mental health issues, including postpartum depression, are growing concerns. Despite the increased awareness of mental health, several factors hinder women from seeking help for mental health concerns during the postpartum period. Hence, this qualitative study used the World Health Organization's Social Determinants of Health Framework to examine the structural and intermediary determinants that shape women's help-seeking behaviors regarding mental health during the postpartum period. A thematic analysis of interviews with 12 new mothers revealed that the structural determinants of help-seeking behaviors for postpartum mental health include employment status and working conditions as enablers and social perceptions of mental health, societal expectations of motherhood, and financial capabilities as barriers. This study also showed that intermediary determinants that enable help-seeking for postpartum mental health include effective communication, familiarity, informational support, perceptions of formal sources of help, and the severity of the situation. Conversely, hindrances include gaps in communication, inadequate emotional support, fear of being misunderstood, being gossiped about, and being a burden, belief in the responsibilities associated with motherhood, and belief in self-reliance. These findings can be used to develop initiatives to promote postpartum mental health.

Previous research on mental health disparities shows that persons from racial-ethnic minority groups have less access to mental health care, engage in less treatment, and receive poorer-quality treatment than non-Hispanic whites. Attitudes and beliefs about mental health treatment were examined to determine whether they contribute to these disparities. Data from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R) were analyzed to determine attitudes toward treatment-seeking behavior among people of non-Hispanic white, African-American, and Hispanic or Latino race-ethnicity. Additional sociodemographic variables were examined in relation to attitudes and beliefs toward treatment. African-American race-ethnicity was a significant independent predictor of greater reported willingness to seek treatment and lesser reported embarrassment if others found out about being in treatment. These findings persisted when analyses adjusted for socioeconomic variables. Hispanic or Latino race-ethnicity also was associated with an increased likelihood of willingness to seek professional help and lesser embarrassment if others found out, but these differences did not persist after adjustment for the effects of socioeconomic variables. Contrary to the initial hypothesis, African Americans and Hispanics or Latinos may have more positive attitudes toward mental health treatment seeking than non-Hispanic whites. To improve access to mental health services among racial-ethnic minority groups, it is crucial to better understand a broader array of individual-, provider-, and system-level factors that may create barriers to care.

Race-Ethnicity as a Predictor of Attitudes Toward Mental Health Treatment Seeking

Background: mental health problems in generation Z of the Kodi People Group and Madurese ethnic group in their behavior in seeking mental health assistance. The purpose of this study is to analyze the differences in the behavior of mental help seeking from Generation Z in the Kodi people group and Madurese ethnic group. Methods: This research used quantitative research method, namely, the survey method. The subjects of this study were Generation Z from the Kodi people group and the Madurese who have experienced mental health problems such as stress, anxiety, depression, suicidal thought, drug use, and physical illness. The sampling technique used was purposive sampling with a total of 200 respondents from Generation Z. This study used the instrument of General Help-Seeking Questionnaire Vignette Version (GHSQ-V). The hypothesis test in this study was a paired t-test. Results: 33% of respondents from the Kodi people group had behavior in seeking mental health assistance that was categorized as "high". Meanwhile, respondents from the Madurese ethnic group also had behavior that was categorized as "high", which was 33.5%. The Results of T-Test Analysis of Behavior in seeking mental health assistance among Generation Z from the Kodi people group and the Madurese ethnic group was 0.905 Conclusion: it can be said that there is no significant difference in the behavior of seeking mental health help between Generation Z of the Kodi people group and the Madurese ethnic group. The recommendation of this research is as a preliminary study in culturally sensitive based mental health nursing. so that future research can use culturally sensitive-based mental health nursing interventions