Perception of Need and Receipt of Mental Health Treatment: A Three-Group Comparison of Young Adults With Psychological Distress

Objective: This study examined mental health service use among three groups of young adults with assessed psychological distress: no perceived need for treatment, reported unmet need, and received treatment.

Methods: Data came from participants ages 18 to 25 in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2008-2013) who met criteria for psychological distress (N=19,775). Demographic, access-, and need-related predictors of perceived need and treatment group were examined by using multinomial logistic regression.

Results: Half the sample did not perceive a need for treatment (51.0%), and only one-third had received treatment (33.7%). White youths were more likely than those from other racial-ethnic groups to perceive a need and to receive treatment. Men were less likely than women to perceive need but equally likely to receive treatment. Higher education and having insurance also predicted treatment receipt.

Conclusions: Efforts to increase service utilization among young adults should increase awareness of mental health problems and facilitate access, particularly for racial-ethnic minority groups.