ERIC Number: EJ1418341
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1866-2625
EISSN: EISSN-1866-2633
Mental Health Help-Seeking Patterns among Early Adolescents across Indicators of Adversity
Melissa J. DuPont-Reyes; Jared Datzman; Alice P. Villatoro; Jo C. Phelan; Bruce G. Link
School Mental Health, v16 n1 p177-188 2024
To help guide school mental health policy and practice, we evaluated patterns of mental health help-seeking across lifetime adversity among sixth-grade adolescents. An ethnically/socioeconomically diverse sample of sixth-graders (N = 751) self-completed assessments of help-seeking and indicators of lifetime adversities: violence victimization, poverty, parent loss/divorce, mental illness/substance abuse at home, and stressors related to social identity. Logistic regression models adjusting for family/personal factors examined adversity factors on help-seeking outcomes overall and across subgroups with mental health perceived problems and high-symptoms. Overall, odds increased between perceived problem and formal service use, poverty and formal service/school counselor use, and high-symptoms/victimization and talking to a friend (p < 0.05). Among those with perceived problems, odds increased between mental illness/substance abuse at home and formal service use, victimization and talking to a friend, and poverty and school counselor use (p < 0.05). Among those with no mental health problems, odds increased between victimization and formal service/school counselor use, and poverty and formal service use (p < 0.05). No significant patterns were observed in the high-symptom subgroup. Understanding how adversity shapes help-seeking can help guide school mental health policies and practices. Study findings point to areas for expansion of supports for students with adversity to create a mental health safety net and help mitigate future risk.
Descriptors: Grade 6, Mental Health, Help Seeking, Violence, Victims, Poverty, One Parent Family, Substance Abuse, Mental Disorders, Environmental Influences, Self Concept, School Counselors
Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2123/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Grade 6; Intermediate Grades; Middle Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) (DHHS/NIH)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: R01MH095254