The gender gap in mental health service use

Pattyn, Elise; Verhaeghe, Mieke; Bracke, Piet

doi:10.1007/s00127-015-1038-x

Cited by 117 publications

(81 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…This is in line with the literature that converged upon the same conclusion (Gallegos et al, 2015;O'Loughlin et al, 2011;Pattyn et al, 2015;Yousaf et al, 2015). This is in line with the literature that converged upon the same conclusion (Gallegos et al, 2015;O'Loughlin et al, 2011;Pattyn et al, 2015;Yousaf et al, 2015).…”

Section: Male-female Differences In Baseline Help-seekingsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…When only considering measurements at baseline (i.e., before consideration of preferences for or availability of a therapist of the preferred sex), the current study found lower help-seeking of males than females, in agreement with the consensus in the literature (Gallegos et al, 2015;O'Loughlin et al, 2011;Pattyn et al, 2015;Yousaf et al, 2015). However, for sex of respondent, the following interesting findings were observed.…”

Section: Accommodating Preferences For Therapists' Sex Predicts Helsupporting

confidence: 90%

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The relationship between clients' preferences of therapists' sex and mental health support seeking: An exploratory study

Black

Gringart

2019

Australian Psychologist

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Objective In Australia, the number of female psychologists is significantly larger than that of male psychologists. Due to gaps in the literature, it is difficult to establish whether such discrepancies affect mental health support seeking. The present study investigated the preferences of Australian respondents for the sex of a potential therapist and whether the accommodation of such preferences affects mental health support seeking. Method The study employed a mixed design online survey analysed using multiple linear and multinomial logistic regressions and used a convenience sample of N = 456 Australian participants recruited via social media. Demographics, preferences for therapists' sex, problem type, and likelihood to seek help if preferences for therapists' sex were accommodated or not were collected via an online questionnaire. Analyses included tests for group differences and regressions. Results Male respondents reported lower baseline likelihood to seek mental health support than female respondents. A main effect of sex of respondent on preferences for therapists' sex was found, but no main effect of problem type on preferences for therapists' sex was evident. Finally, accommodating preferences for therapists' sex was a significant predictor of mental health support seeking. Conclusion It is prudent to encourage the monitoring and accommodation of clients' preferences of therapists' sex. Additionally, more males could be encouraged to enter the mental health professions. The results of the current study may inform education and health policy. Future research could further explore the effects of occupation and problem type on preferences for therapists' sex and help‐seeking.

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Section: Male-female Differences In Baseline Help-seekingsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Accommodating Preferences For Therapists' Sex Predicts Helsupporting

confidence: 90%

The relationship between clients' preferences of therapists' sex and mental health support seeking: An exploratory study

Black

Gringart

2019

Australian Psychologist

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“…Despite these methodological differences, our low rate probably reflects a low access to psychiatric specialist care in Tromsø, Norway, as reported elsewhere [28]. In addition, the low rate might be related to stigma, leading people not to seek care in specialist psychiatric settings [29, 30]. Another possible explanation is that some people with anxiety/depression might be satisfied with care from one provider, whether care is offered by a CAM provider or a mental care specialist.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 61%

The use of CAM providers and psychiatric outpatient services in people with anxiety/depression: a cross-sectional survey

Hansen

Kristoffersen

2016

BMC Complement Altern Med

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BackgroundDepression has been identified as one of the most frequent predictors of CAM use. However, limited data exist about the use of CAM providers among people with anxiety/depression in Norway. The aim of this study was to investigate the use of CAM providers, and the use of CAM providers and psychiatric outpatient services in combination, among people with self-reported anxiety and/or depression.MethodsWe used questionnaire data from 12,982 participants (30–87 years) in the cross-sectional sixth Tromsø Study (conducted in 2007-8). Eligible for analyses in our study were 1685 participants who reported suffering from anxiety and/or depression. By descriptive statistical methods, we estimated the use of CAM providers, psychiatric outpatient services, and the combination of these. By logistic regressions we studied the association between the use of these services and gender, age, income, education, and self-reported degree of anxiety/depression.ResultsDuring the previous year, 17.8 % of people with anxiety/depression visited a CAM provider once or more, 11.8 % visited psychiatric outpatient services, and 2.5 % visited both. Men with anxiety/depression were less likely to visit CAM providers compared to women (odds ratio [OR] 0.40, confidence interval [CI] 0.30–0.55), whereas higher educated people were more likely to visit compared to the lowest educated (OR 1.47, CI 1.02–2.13). The use of CAM providers was not associated with the degree of anxiety/depression. For those who used both CAM providers and psychiatric specialist services during the previous year, severe anxiety/depression was strongly associated with use compared to moderate disease (OR 7.53, CI 2.75–20.65).ConclusionsPeople with severe anxiety/depression seem to use CAM providers and psychiatric services additionally, whereas those with moderate disease seem to use these services more as alternative pathways. CAM provider treatment might be a substitute for conventional care, particularly in patients with moderate disease.

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“…We excluded representative samples that were limited to one large city or region or even several regions (if they were not randomly selected). We also excluded samples of inpatients or outpatients as this sampling strategy is vulnerable to the criticism that the study is detecting a gender difference in help seeking rather than an actual gender difference in depression (Nolen-Hoeksema, 1987; Pattyn, Verhaeghe, & Bracke, 2015). Nationally representative samples do include individuals currently receiving mental health treatment (unless they are institutionalized) or individuals with a history of receiving mental health treatment, so those individuals were not excluded.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender differences in depression in representative national samples: Meta-analyses of diagnoses and symptoms.

Salk¹,

Hyde²,

Abramson³

2017

Psychological Bulletin

1,623

148

935

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In two meta-analyses on gender differences in depression in nationally representative samples we advance previous work by including studies of depression diagnoses and symptoms to 1) estimate the magnitude of the gender difference in depression across a wide array of nations and ages; 2) use a developmental perspective to elucidate patterns of gender differences across the lifespan; and 3) incorporate additional theory-driven moderators (e.g., gender equity). For major depression diagnoses and depression symptoms, respectively, we meta-analyzed data from 65 and 95 articles and their corresponding national datasets, representing data from 1,716,195 and 1,922,064 people in over 90 different nations. Overall, OR = 1.95, 95% CI [1.88, 2.03] and d = 0.27 [0.26, 0.29]. Age was the strongest predictor of effect size. The gender difference for diagnoses emerged earlier than previously thought, with OR = 2.37 at age 12. For both meta-analyses, the gender difference peaked in adolescence (OR = 3.02 for ages 13–15, and d = 0.47 for age 16) but then declined and remained stable in adulthood. Cross-national analyses indicated that larger gender differences were found in nations with greater gender equity, for major depression, but not depression symptoms. The gender difference in depression represents a health disparity, especially in adolescence, yet the magnitude of the difference indicates that depression in males should not be overlooked.

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The gender gap in mental health service use

Abstract: The gender gap in mental health service use is due not only to men and their negative attitudes toward help seeking, but also to structured social norms that are reconstructed in interactions. Women also contribute to the maintenance of masculinity norms.

Cited by 117 publications

References 36 publications

The relationship between clients' preferences of therapists' sex and mental health support seeking: An exploratory study

The relationship between clients' preferences of therapists' sex and mental health support seeking: An exploratory study

The use of CAM providers and psychiatric outpatient services in people with anxiety/depression: a cross-sectional survey

Gender differences in depression in representative national samples: Meta-analyses of diagnoses and symptoms.

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