Few young adults with a history of significant mental health problems go on to use psychiatric services, medications, or other mental health services consistently as they transition into adulthood, results from a qualitative study demonstrated.
The analysis "sheds light on the problem of untreated mental illness among young adults nationwide and explores factors that influence mental health service use decisions during young adulthood among those exiting child welfare, juvenile justice, mental health, and other publicly funded systems of care," according to a press release about the work, which will appear in the October 2012 edition of the Journal of Social Science and Medicine (75;1441-9).
For the study, Michelle R. Munson, Ph.D., and James J. Jaccard, Ph.D., at New York University’s Silver School of Social Work and their associates conducted in-depth, semistructured interviews with 60 young adults aged 18-25 years who were struggling with continued mood and emotional difficulties and who shared three childhood experiences: mood-disorder diagnosis, use of public mental health services, and experience with social service systems. The researchers found that few of the study participants continued using mental health services as they transitioned to adulthood. In fact, 42% reported discontinuing services, 22% reported a single gap in service use, and 15% reported multiple gaps in service use at a time in their lives when they are aging out of children’s social service systems.
"The reasons for not using services consistently ranged from participants’ doubts about the efficacy of services and concerns about one’s ‘image,’ to insurance barriers and long wait times for counseling and other types of assistance at overburdened social service agencies," the press release noted.
It went on to state that the study "provides future researchers with a mid-level theory, which is an integrated and comprehensive framework for further research and understanding about the sporadic use of mental health services by young adults."
-Doug Brunk (on Twitter @dougbrunk)