Barriers to treatment for alcohol dependence: a qualitative study

Differences Between Treatment‐Seeking and Nontreatment‐Seeking Alcohol‐Dependent Research Participants: An Exploratory Analysis

“…According to the Health Belief Model (Bardsley and Beckman, 1988) and stress and coping models (Finney and Moos, 1995), important factors in the decision to seek treatment for addiction are more severe consequences of drinking and greater perceived severity of the illness; in addition, individuals with addiction who present to the criminal justice system are often court-mandated to treatment. Opposing these are barriers to seeking treatment such as resistance to reduce drinking, cost, stigma and accessibility of treatment (Xu et al, 2008, Andréasson et al, 2013, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2009). Epidemiological research, conducted largely in community cohorts, has identified factors associated with treatment-seeking behavior in AD individuals: older age, male sex, non-white race, as well as unemployed or unmarried status (Weisner, 1993).…”