Examining Help-Seeking Among National Guard Service Members

Keywords

military, service members, National Guard, help-seeking, mental health treatment, psychotherapy, psychiatric medication, suicidal ideation, stigma, negative beliefs about treatment, depression, stress

Abstract

Low rates of help-seeking among military service members (SMs) remains a persistent problem. Data from 997 National Guard (NG) SMs were examined to assess predictors of help-seeking behavior. Suicidal ideation, age, negative stress, positive stress, depression, and negative beliefs about mental health treatment were consistently found to predict help-seeking. A past history of suicidal ideation was the strongest predictor of receiving treatment. Negative beliefs about mental health treatment had the greatest impact on decreasing the odds of receiving treatment. Results have implications for improving service utilization for NG SMs.

Original Publication Citation

D. Michael Applegarth, David S. Wood, AnnaBelle O. Bryan & Craig J. Bryan (2019) Examining Help-Seeking Among National Guard Service Members, Military Behavioral Health, 7:2, 198-205.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2019-01-12

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/6923

Publisher

Military Behavioral Health

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Social Work

University Standing at Time of Publication

Assistant Professor

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