TY - JOUR
T1 - Profiles of mental health help seeking among Australian adolescent males
AU - Liddle, Sarah K.
AU - Robinson, Laura
AU - Vella, Stewart A.
AU - Deane, Frank P.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research has been conducted with the primary support of a Movember Foundation Australian Mental Health Initiative Grant . The program also received funding from the Global Challenges Program at the University of Wollongong, and an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents
Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2021/10
Y1 - 2021/10
N2 - Introduction: Adolescent males are at increased risk of mental illness and are reluctant to engage in treatment. This study aims to identify subgroups of help-seeking intentions among a sample of Australian male adolescents. Methods: A sample of 1038 male adolescent sport participants in Australia (age M = 14.69 years, SD = 1.35) reported help-seeking intentions from ten sources and from ‘no one’. Latent profile analysis was conducted based on these 11 items. Identified profiles were then compared across mental health measures. Results: Four latent profiles were identified: Low general help-seekers (10.5%), Moderate general help-seekers (46.8%), High general help-seekers (25.5%), High family and friends help-seekers (17.2%). Low, Moderate, and High general help-seekers had uniformly low, moderate, and high intentions to seek help from all sources, respectively. High family and friends help-seekers reported high endorsement of intentions to seek help from intimate partners, friends, parents, and other relatives, but low intentions for other sources. Low general help-seekers had lower intentions to seek help from parents compared to all other profiles. They also had significantly lower perceived family support and higher psychological distress. Conclusions: Low general help-seekers were particularly reluctant to seek help from all sources and at high risk of experiencing psychological difficulties. Their distinct profile offers potential to identify this high-risk group through the use of ratings on the parent help-seeking intentions item. Further research should investigate the predictive utility of this item on help-seeking and mental health, and should consider the influence of masculinity and previous experiences of help-seeking.
AB - Introduction: Adolescent males are at increased risk of mental illness and are reluctant to engage in treatment. This study aims to identify subgroups of help-seeking intentions among a sample of Australian male adolescents. Methods: A sample of 1038 male adolescent sport participants in Australia (age M = 14.69 years, SD = 1.35) reported help-seeking intentions from ten sources and from ‘no one’. Latent profile analysis was conducted based on these 11 items. Identified profiles were then compared across mental health measures. Results: Four latent profiles were identified: Low general help-seekers (10.5%), Moderate general help-seekers (46.8%), High general help-seekers (25.5%), High family and friends help-seekers (17.2%). Low, Moderate, and High general help-seekers had uniformly low, moderate, and high intentions to seek help from all sources, respectively. High family and friends help-seekers reported high endorsement of intentions to seek help from intimate partners, friends, parents, and other relatives, but low intentions for other sources. Low general help-seekers had lower intentions to seek help from parents compared to all other profiles. They also had significantly lower perceived family support and higher psychological distress. Conclusions: Low general help-seekers were particularly reluctant to seek help from all sources and at high risk of experiencing psychological difficulties. Their distinct profile offers potential to identify this high-risk group through the use of ratings on the parent help-seeking intentions item. Further research should investigate the predictive utility of this item on help-seeking and mental health, and should consider the influence of masculinity and previous experiences of help-seeking.
KW - Adolescence
KW - Barriers to help-seeking
KW - Family support
KW - Male
KW - Mental health
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85112572614&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.adolescence.2021.08.010
DO - 10.1016/j.adolescence.2021.08.010
M3 - Article
C2 - 34416479
AN - SCOPUS:85112572614
SN - 0140-1971
VL - 92
SP - 34
EP - 45
JO - Journal of Adolescence
JF - Journal of Adolescence
ER -
