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Results for “Help-Seeking Behavior”

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PubMed1988

Client characteristics as determinants of intervention modality and therapy progress.

The relationship between client characteristics and assignment to family or individual therapy and therapy progress was examined in 131 child cases. Assignment to family therapy was related to help-seeking variables, suggesting that the recommendation followed a therapeutic rationale. History of prior services and client's race were both associated with levels of progress, with results indicating benefits from previous therapy but problems of "fit" between traditional mental health services and minority families.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Parallel process in the family medicine system: issues and challenges for resident training.

This article uses the concept of parallel process to examine resident training as one component in a system of interlocking relationships. Parallel process is defined, and its applicability to the dynamic exchange of help-seeking and help-giving behaviors which lies at the core of the health care system is examined. The concept of stages or phases in parallel process development next is explored. A relational model for optimal functioning between resident-patient and attending-resident is proposed, as well as an illustrative examination of one of the more problematic issues which a parallel process analysis can bring to light. Therapeutic interventions to enhance help-giving and help-seeking at different levels of the system are defined and analyzed, and educational implications for resident training are summarized.

Internship and Residency↗

PubMed1990

The care of family physicians and their families: a study of health and help-seeking behaviour.

Physicians in general are at risk for the development of stress, drug and alcohol abuse, as well as for suicide. Furthermore, the treatment of the sick physician is more difficult than that of a 'regular' patient. These difficulties may cause the postponement of diagnosis and treatment to critical stages of the disease. This paper presents a study of self-rated health and health-seeking behaviour of Israeli family physicians and their families. Our major finding is that two-thirds of the physicians do not have a regular family physician, and physicians who suffer from chronic diseases are even less likely to be treated than the 'healthy' ones. Twenty eight per cent of the physicians did not use any kind of medical consultation. However, each physician's family did receive some form of medical consultation, although in some cases this was not the usual form of medical care. The physicians who treated themselves tended to treat their own families and vice versa. Eighty-eight per cent of the physicians reported stress owing to their work (work overload, poor relationships with the medical team or with the patients), and 20% said that their work as physicians negatively affected their marital life. The relationship between the help-seeking behaviour of the family physician and the quality of care they give is as yet unclear. Various alternatives are raised for changing family physicians' behaviour as well as the primary care health system in order to possibly provide better care for the physicians and their families.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Disability in late adolescence. III: Utilization of health services.

Adolescent health service usage is a neglected research area. Data are important for planning of services and for prioritizing needs. A sample of 871 18-year-olds was surveyed about its use of health services in the preceding year. A significant proportion had made a consultation and were mostly satisfied with the service received. For a subsample of that cohort, who had a difficulty in their daily living, only a third had consulted a health professional for that difficulty over the past year. Help-seeking was related to the severity of that difficulty, particularly for the limitations that it imposed on everyday life. Some dissatisfactions with consultations were expressed in relation to expectations of the efficacy of treatment and to the communication of the health professionals.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1994

Multidimensional health locus of control beliefs and psychological health for a sample of mothers.

Five multidimensional health locus of control (MHLC) types for 772 women whose children are enrolled in a longitudinal study of their health and development were identified. The MHLC is composed of an internal and two external dimensions (chance and powerful others). The five independent MHLC clusters were: pure internal; believer in control; pure chance; yea-sayer; and nay-sayer. Women with high scores on the three dimensions of the MHLC (yea-sayer) compared with the rest of the sample were significantly more likely to be from a lower socio-economic status, score lower on a general verbal intelligence test and higher on the Neuroticism and Lie Scales of the Eysenck Personality Inventory. They rated their overall health as significantly poorer, and reported more symptoms of depression compared with the other groups. A pure internal locus of control was strongly associated with the report of good health. Women with a strong belief in internal and powerful other loci of control were significantly more likely to have received treatment for their depression compared with other groups. Help-seeking for children's problem behaviour did not vary significantly with MHLC groups. The present study replicated five out of six MHLC types identified in an earlier study, and established the external validity of the MHLC types on measures of health status. The findings support the use of MHLC types in future research on health locus of control.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1994

Oral health, oral health care and dental services--the consumer perspective.

As part of a National Oral Health Survey conducted in 1988/89, community knowledge of and attitudes towards oral health and oral health care were examined in the various population groups in South Africa. A wide range of issues were explored. These included amongst others, help-seeking and oral health behaviour, sources of health information and attitudes to dentists and dental care. Given the major political change that has recently occurred in the country, the results of the survey suggest that these findings could profitably be used in future dental personnel planning as well as in the re-structuring of the health services that is currently taking place.

Attitude to Health↗

PubMed1983

Variations in problem conceptualizations and intended solutions among Hong Kong students.

Cognitive schema were used to explain health and illness behaviors among Chinese students. University students in Hong Kong were asked to attribute causes and suggest solutions to five health/mental health problems: Weakness/Fatigue, Tension/Anxiety, Sleep Difficulty, Hollow/Emptiness, and Headache. The patterns of endorsement on the causal and solution categories used for the five problems were compared using a new asymptotic chi-squared test. The response patterns were found to be significantly different across the five problems. Each problem was attributed to multiple causes including psychological, social, situational, somatic, and existential factors. The intended solutions were often related to the nature of the causal attributions especially when the problems were mild. In lay help-seeking, the Hong Kong students would attempt a variety of self-help measures. However, for professional consultation, the medical doctor would be the primary care professional the students would turn to for most of the problems except in the case of Hollow/Emptiness.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

Ethical issues in interviewing.

A study of the help-seeking behaviours of alcohol dependent and problem drinking women raised a number of ethical issues. It had been anticipated that the design of the study and the construction and approval of appropriate consent forms would eliminate the majority of problems. While this was true, a number of unforeseen points emerged during the course of the study related to interviewing women, discussing emotive issues and the responsibilities of the researcher vis-à-vis their samples. This paper discusses the issues raised using specific examples drawn from the research study.

Alcoholism↗

PubMed1989

Psychosocial responses to oral and maxillofacial surgery for head and neck cancer.

This study involved extensive interviews with 28 patients who had disfiguring oral and maxillofacial surgery for head and neck cancer. The patients, ages 42 to 76 years, had all been informed of their diagnosis and were in 2- to 5-year postoperative follow-up. Findings pertain to how patients deal with the interpersonal and social ramifications of diagnosis and surgical treatment. Fatalism, delays in help-seeking, responses to diagnosis, postsurgical anxiety, and adjustment were reported. Reassurance prior to surgery was sometimes found to limit understanding of postoperative impairment. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons were seen in heroic or imposing roles that impacted on their capacity to be supportive to patients coping with life change and "handicap." The patient treatment decisions were found to be determined by attitudes about death, which motivated patients and surgeons to make difficult or extreme choices. Suffering, social changes, and postoperative uncertainty were patient concerns. Patient strategies for adjusting to disfiguration are examined, and specific recommendations for the oral and maxillofacial surgeon are made.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

The treatment-seeking woman at menopause.

Recent studies suggest that health care utilisation by women during menopause transition in general is highly idiosyncratic, despite the widespread advocation of prophylactic hormone therapy and increased health vigilance. The Melbourne Women's Midlife Health Study, a community-based cross-sectional study of 2001 urban Australian-born women aged 45-55 years, evaluated women's physical and emotional experiences, past and present health status, attitudes and beliefs about menopause, health behaviours and current menopausal status in a 30-min telephone interview. This paper reports on those factors related to help-seeking and health care utilisation. Findings show that treatment utilisers, in contrast to non-utilisers, reported a wider range of general symptoms, but reports on vasomotor symptoms did not contribute to the regression analysis. Treatment utilisers were further identified as problem-related or prevention-related utilisers. In three-way analyses, the past and present social and physical health of the problem-related treatment user was reportedly worse than either the prevention-related utiliser or non-utiliser. These findings suggest that medical and societal views about the health of middle-aged women during menopausal transition are likely to be based on the experiences of a particular segment of the population only. It is proposed that biased views of menopause as a time of considerable distress and ill-health are being perpetuated and over-generalised. This perspective appears to have little relevance for the majority of middle-aged women.

Australia↗

PubMed1978

Help-seeking mothers and their children.

Forty-three mothers sought help with management of childhood behaviors. Presenting complaints in half or more of the families included stubbornness, talking back to parents, disobedience and other traits indicative of parent-child interaction difficulties. Pretreatment behavioral observations revealed that mothers shared common characteristics of being low in positive warmth and high in negative and oppositional responses. The children were observed to share common traits of little independent play, frequent frustration, and either ignored their mothers or were verbally and physically oppositional. Behavioral counselling and monitored rehearsal served to reverse many of the behaviors. Almost all mothers reported reduction in problem behaviors. Mothers varied widely in attributing usefulness to different program components.

Attitude↗

PubMed1992

Parents of adolescents: help-seeking intentions as a function of help sources and parenting issues.

This study examined the declared intentions of parents of adolescents to seek help from potential sources for a variety of hypothetical problems related to parenting. The relationship between hypothetical help-seeking and certain characteristics of the help-seeker (sex, educational level, parenting, self-confidence, birth order, and sex of the adolescent), and the source of help (natural support system, professional support system, and media); and the problem type were investigated. The research population included 187 parents of adolescents. A questionnaire was formulated for the purpose of the study which examined help-seeking from nine sources of help on eight hypothetical parenting issues. Intention to seek help was found to be a function of both the particular problem type and the potential source of help. In general, parents declared their intention to seek help from and rely on a variety of sources. It was found that parents said that they were most likely to seek help from their spouses regardless of the issue, whereas professional sources were most likely to be consulted in their area of expertise.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1983

Social networks and patterns of help-seeking behaviour.

Previous research has suggested that patterns of help-seeking behaviour are influenced by who the sufferer consults when deciding whether to seek medical care or not. This research has been extended to include episodes of illness and injury where more formal contacts are brought into the consultation process. The results show that the perceived urgency with which medical care is required is influenced by who the person has contact with. Some groups such as the police, bystanders and neighbours and friends may be more likely to suggest that the sufferer should seek medical attention than other consultants. This difference was explained in terms of the social, economic, moral and legal pressures associated with these people's positions.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1989

Social support: diverse theoretical perspectives.

The useful predictions and interpretations about social support which can be derived from attribution, coping, equity, loneliness and social comparison theories have typically not been recognized. Attribution theory can enable explanation of motives of donors, the phenomena of help-seeking and helping, and negative effects of support efforts. Coping theory demonstrates how social support and coping interface in the stress process; adds a cognitive dimension to support; and considers costs of support. Equity theory explains reactions to support from donor and recipient viewpoints and the reciprocal nature of social support. Loneliness theory attests to the significance of social relationships and emphasizes the affective dimension of support. Social comparison theory is helpful in interpreting positive and debilitating effects of support when the donor is a peer. Further, these five theories enhance theoretical interpretation of social support through their distinctive explanations of the concepts of 'appraisal' and 'helping'. Relevance to health professional assessment and practice can be delineated.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1994

Self-control skillfulness and caregiver burden among help-seeking elders.

Self-control skills are coping responses that help to organize one's own behavior and to manage cognitive and emotional responses that disrupt ongoing, adaptive behavior. The concept of self-control is applied to the chronically stressful caregiving experience. The present study examined the relationship between caregivers' role-specific burden and their self-control skillfulness. Forty-four caregivers of cognitively impaired spouses were assessed. Demographic characteristics, psychiatric symptomatology, role-specific burden, functional impairment of their spouse, and dispositional self-control skillfulness were measured. Highly skillful caregivers reported lower burden, fewer memory and behavior problems for their care recipient, and fewer psychiatric symptoms than less skilled caregivers. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that self-control skillfulness was associated with caregiver burden net the effects of covariates including age, education, memory and behavior problems of the care recipient, and caregivers' psychological distress. Results suggest that self-control skills may play an important role in caregiving and may help to explain why some caregivers adapt better than others to their role.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1990

Coping and help-seeking in the UK adult population.

A large national sample of the UK adult population was surveyed to find out how respondents would cope and whom they would turn to for help if they experienced psychological problems. Overall, the most frequently endorsed coping methods were cognitive or behavioural rather than avoidance- or substance-based. Respondents tended to endorse informal rather than formal helpers, especially partners and close relatives, although the family doctor was given greater endorsement than in corresponding US studies. Individual differences in coping and help seeking were examined with respect to demographic variables and level of reported psychological symptoms. Respondents who reported higher levels of symptoms tended to endorse more coping methods, especially avoidance methods, and to show greater readiness to seek help. The implications of the findings for traditional clinical work and for mental health education and promotion are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1992

The role of significant life events in discriminating help-seeking among illicit drug users.

This paper examines the role of significant life events in distinguishing two samples of illicit drug users: 120 help-seekers (the "agency group") and 120 not seeking help (the "non-agency group"). We examined 10 life areas clustered around the general categories of "substance use," "social functioning," and "emotional and interpersonal functioning." A range of objective and self-reported information was collected regarding each life area covering the 12 months prior to interview. Analysis revealed that the agency group experienced a greater number of negatively perceived drug-related life events than the non-agency group. These life events were also more likely to have occurred in recent months, prompting reported "concern" and "need for help" among the agency group. Additionally, length of use of current primary drug was seen to be a contributory variable in distinguishing between the groups.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Phenomenology and neurobiology of social phobia: comparison with panic disorder.

Like panic disorder, social phobia is a common, frequently severe, anxiety disorder that can cause significant work and social impairment. Unlike panic disorder, social phobia has only recently begun to undergo neurobiologic study and to receive pharmacotherapeutic attention. There is a high comorbidity between social phobia and panic disorder; however, many differences exist--including age at onset, gender distribution, contextual framework of anxiety, help-seeking and help-avoidance behavior, quality of sleep and sleep patterns, caffeine and lactate sensitivity, and, most probably, pharmacologic responses. Social phobia can now be included among the growing number of anxiety disorders that respond to pharmacotherapy.

Adult↗