Barriers to mental health treatment: results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication
2010/12/07 by R. Mojtabai, Ramin Mojtabai, M. Olfson +13 · 982 citations
Medicine · Psychology · #Anxiety #Clinical psychology #Comorbidity #Environmental health #Medicine #Mental Health Treatment and Access #Mental health #Mood #Personality Disorders and Psychopathology #Population #Psychiatry #Psychology #Schizophrenia research and treatment
paper · doi:10.1017/s0033291710002291
published in Psychological Medicine 41(8), 1751-1761 (Cambridge University Press)
openalex publication_date 2010/12/07 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The aim was to examine barriers to initiation and continuation of treatment among individuals with common mental disorders in the US general population. METHOD: Respondents in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication with common 12-month DSM-IV mood, anxiety, substance, impulse control and childhood disorders were asked about perceived need for treatment, structural barriers and attitudinal/evaluative barriers to initiation and continuation of treatment. RESULTS: Low perceived need was reported by 44.8% of respondents with a disorder who did not seek treatment. Desire to handle the problem on one's own was the most common reason among respondents with perceived need both for not seeking treatment (72.6%) and for dropping out of treatment (42.2%). Attitudinal/evaluative factors were much more important than structural barriers both to initiating (97.4% v. 22.2%) and to continuing (81.9% v. 31.8%) of treatment. Reasons for not seeking treatment varied with illness severity. Low perceived need was a more common reason for not seeking treatment among individuals with mild (57.0%) than moderate (39.3%) or severe (25.9%) disorders, whereas structural and attitudinal/evaluative barriers were more common among respondents with more severe conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Low perceived need and attitudinal/evaluative barriers are the major barriers to treatment seeking and staying in treatment among individuals with common mental disorders. Efforts to increase treatment seeking and reduce treatment drop-out need to take these barriers into consideration as well as to recognize that barriers differ as a function of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics.
Citations
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