The relationship of personal financial status to the utilization of community mental health centers in rural appalachia

Abstract

As a follow-up to an aggregate study of the relationship of economic factors to the utilization of mental health facilities, this study, using individual data, attempted to determine the associative strengths of income factors--welfare and unemployment--for utilization of community mental health centers (CMHCs) in rural Appalachia. On the basis of the earlier study and of previous studies of social class and utilization of CMHCs it was hypothesized that for this sample of 151 clients of eight CMHCs in Ohio and West Virginia, unemployment and welfare factors would be most strongly associated with utilization. A multiple regression analysis indicated that when compared to other independent variables, such as life satisfaction, demographic, and personal factors, receipt of food stamps was the most important factor in relating to utilization; this relationship was considerably stronger when the more rural areas were separated for analysis. Some relationship between employment status and utilization was also found. The results are discussed in terms of unique patterns of social service dependency in more rural Appalachia.

Cultural differences in seeking mental health counseling: The role of symptom severity and type in Appalachian Kentucky.

“…Research on help-seeking for mental health services within Appalachia, however, is limited and dated. Banziger and his colleagues (Banziger & Foos, 1983; Banziger, Smith, & Foos, 1982) noted that economic factors and the utilization of social services both predicted Appalachian residents’ tendency to seek mental health counseling, but they did not investigate how symptom severity influences their utilization of services. Wilkinson (1987) noted that residents from Appalachia, similar to members of other rural communities, relied on indigenous healing customs rather than going to a mental health professional, but she did not examine the factors that would increase the likelihood of seeking such help after those customary resources were deemed insufficient.…”