The role of family history in mental health service utilization for major depression

Remarriage after divorce and depression risk

“…For example, the presence of a spouse may have resulted in a higher proportion of depressed men being encouraged to seek medical care, thus inflating the proportion being treated for depression among the remarried men. Although some studies have found that care utilisation for depression is greater in married than unmarried individuals (Coryell et al, 1995;Prokofyeva et al, 2013), others found the opposite (Gudmundsdottir and Vilhjalmsson, 2010) or found no difference by marital status (Kessler et al, 2001). Such variation may in part relate to the type of contact (including inpatient, outpatient, primary care) and depression characteristics and care needs, such as severity, duration and perception (Gudmundsdottir and Vilhjalmsson, 2010).…”

Mental health services use among adults with or without mental disorders: Do development stages matter?

“…Among predisposing factors, individuals aged over 30 years with a psychiatric family history are more likely to use MHS probably because they are knowledgeable about mental health problems and MHS (Prokofyeva, Martins, Younes, Surkan, & Melchior, 2013). They have witnessed a family member going through the process of recognising symptoms and seeking appropriate help.…”

Family Influences on the Use of Mental Health Services among African Americans

“…However, as a result of the interaction of family history and SRMH, negative family interactions have a greater indirect effect on the use of any MHS among persons with a history of disorder than among persons with a history of no disorder. This pattern may occur because the past occurrence of disorder in the family predisposes people to interpret stress-induced psychological distress as signs and symptoms of mental disorder because they know that disorder “runs” in their families (e.g., Prokofyeva et al 2013). …”

“…3 Also, having depressed relatives is positively associated with treatment seeking for depression (Kendler 1995). Treatment among depressed persons, especially outpatient treatment and psychotropic medication, is substantially greater when there is a family history of depression than when there is not (Prokofyeva et al 2013). Moreover, having a family member or friend who has used MHS in the past makes it more likely that someone who is symptomatic will seek and receive treatment (Yokopenic, Clark, and Aneshensel 1983).…”