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Published Online: 1 July 2012

Attitudes and Beliefs About Treatment Among College Students With Untreated Mental Health Problems

Daniel Eisenberg, Ph.D., Nicole Speer, Ph.D., and Justin B. Hunt, M.D., M.S.Authors Info & Affiliations
Publication: Psychiatric Services
Volume 63, Number 7
https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201100250
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Abstract

Objective:

This study estimated attitudes and beliefs about treatment in a national sample of college students with untreated mental health problems.

Methods:

A retrospective analysis of the 2007 and 2009 Healthy Minds Study, an online survey of college students in the United States, was conducted. The random sample included 13,105 survey participants from 26 institutions. Students with untreated depression, anxiety, or suicidal ideation (N=2,350) were classified by attitudes about treatment (stigma), beliefs about effectiveness of treatment, and perceived need for treatment.

Results:

A majority (65%) of untreated students reported low stigma and positive beliefs about treatment effectiveness, including 42% who perceived a need for help and 23% who did not.

Conclusions:

For a large proportion of young people with untreated mental illness, attitudes and knowledge about mental illness may no longer be among the main barriers to help seeking. Research and practice need to consider new approaches for understanding and influencing help-seeking behavior. (Psychiatric Services 63:711–713, 2012; doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.201100250)

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Table 1 Attitudes and beliefs about treatment among 1,263 students with an untreated mental health condition, by weighted percentage

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Psychiatric Services
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Cover: Flag on Orange Field, by Jasper Johns, 1967. Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany. © VAGA, New York. Photo © Erich Lessing/Art Resource, New York.
Psychiatric Services
Volume 63 • Number 7 • July 2012
Pages: 711 - 713
PubMed: 22752036

History

Published online: 1 July 2012
Published in print: July 2012

Authors

Details

Daniel Eisenberg, Ph.D.
Dr. Eisenberg is affiliated with the Department of Health Management and Policy, University of Michigan, M3517 SPH II, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (e-mail: [email protected]). Dr. Speer is with Behavioral Sciences Research Consulting, L.L.C., Boulder, Colorado. Dr. Hunt is with the Psychiatric Research Institute, University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, Little Rock, and the Department of Veterans Affairs South Central Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, North Little Rock, Arkansas.
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Nicole Speer, Ph.D.
Dr. Eisenberg is affiliated with the Department of Health Management and Policy, University of Michigan, M3517 SPH II, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (e-mail: [email protected]). Dr. Speer is with Behavioral Sciences Research Consulting, L.L.C., Boulder, Colorado. Dr. Hunt is with the Psychiatric Research Institute, University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, Little Rock, and the Department of Veterans Affairs South Central Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, North Little Rock, Arkansas.
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Justin B. Hunt, M.D., M.S.
Dr. Eisenberg is affiliated with the Department of Health Management and Policy, University of Michigan, M3517 SPH II, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (e-mail: [email protected]). Dr. Speer is with Behavioral Sciences Research Consulting, L.L.C., Boulder, Colorado. Dr. Hunt is with the Psychiatric Research Institute, University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, Little Rock, and the Department of Veterans Affairs South Central Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, North Little Rock, Arkansas.
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