Symptom Severity, Self-efficacy and Treatment-Seeking for Mental Health Among US Iraq/Afghanistan Military Veterans

Overview

Journal Community Ment Health J

Specialty Health Services

Date 2020 Feb 18

PMID 32064566

Citations 6

Authors

Mary Keeling

Nicholas Barr

Hazel Atuel

Carl A Castro

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Military veterans have high rates of mental health problems, yet the majority do not seek treatment. Understanding treatment-seeking in this population is important. This study investigated if symptom severity and self-efficacy are associated with treatment-seeking among US Iraq/Afghanistan veterans. Survey data from 525 veterans meeting clinical criteria for PTSD and depression were included of which, 54.4% had sought treatment in the past 12 months. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that high symptom severity was associated with treatment seeking, whereas high self-efficacy was associated with a decreased likelihood to seek treatment. Self-efficacy could be an underlying mechanism of treatment seeking decisions.

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