Do serving and ex-serving personnel of the UK armed forces seek help for perceived stress, emotional or mental health problems?. Issue 1 (31st December 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Stevelink, Sharon A. M.; Jones, Norman; Jones, Margaret; Dyball, Daniel; Khera, Charandeep K.; Pernet, David; MacCrimmon, Shirlee; Murphy, Dominic; Hull, Lisa; Greenberg, Neil; MacManus, Deirdre; Goodwin, Laura; Sharp, Marie-Louise; Wessely, Simon; Rona, Roberto J.; Fear, Nicola T.
• Is Part Of: European journal of psychotraumatology. Volume 10:Issue 1(2019)
• Publication Date: 2019-12-31
• Subjects: Alcohol misuse -- depression -- military personnel -- veteran -- help-seeking -- post-traumatic stress disorder -- quantitative methods; Abuso de alcohol -- depresión -- personal militar -- veterano -- búsqueda de ayuda -- trastorno de estrés postraumático -- métodos cuantitativos; 酒精滥用 -- 抑郁 -- 军人 -- 退伍老兵 -- 求助 -- 创伤后应激障碍 -- 定量方法; Post-traumatic stress disorder -- Periodicals; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Post-traumatic stress disorder; Electronic journals; Periodicals; Periodicals; Fulltext; Internet Resources; Periodicals; 616.8521
• DOI: 10.1080/20008198.2018.1556552
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2000-8198

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Background : UK armed forces personnel are at risk of occupational psychological injury; they are often reluctant to seek help for such problems. Objective : We aimed to examine and describe sources of support, prevalence and associates of help-seeking among UK serving and ex-serving personnel. Method : A total of 1450 participants who self-reported a stress, emotional or mental health problem in the past 3 years were sampled from a health and wellbeing study and subsequently completed a telephone interview comprising measures of mental disorder symptoms, alcohol misuse and help-seeking behaviour. Results : Seven per cent of participants had not sought any help, 55% had accessed medical sources of support (general practitioner or mental health specialist), 46% had received formal non-medical (welfare) support and 86% had used informal support. Gender, age, perceived health, functional impairment, social support, deployment, alcohol and comorbidity impacted upon the choice of help source. Conclusions : This study found that the majority of those with perceived mental health problems sought some form of help, with over half using formal medical sources of support. HIGHLIGHTS: In contrast to previous studies of help-seeking in serving and ex-serving personnel, and the public perception, this study found that the majority of those with perceived mental health problems sought some form of help. Over half used formal medical sources of support. Younger males who reported lower levels of social support were less likely to seek support.