This study sought to replicate Parslow and Jorm's (Aust N Z J Psychiatry 34(6): 997-1008, 2000) research on need, enabling and predisposing factors as predictors of mental health service use, with the addition of childhood trauma as a predisposing factor. It utilised a non-treatment seeking epidemiological sample of Australian adults (N = 822) to examine 25 variables covering psychiatric disorder, socio-demographics, physical health problems, and childhood trauma as predictors of mental health visits to general practitioners (GP's), mental health specialists and non-mental health specialists. A consistent multivariate predictor of mental health visits to all types of professionals was psychological distress. Presence of an affective disorder, age, and number of health problems were additional predictors of visiting a GP. Being female, divorced, and exposure to childhood trauma predicted use of a mental health specialist, while rural living was associated with lower use of these services. Results highlight the importance of general psychological distress and need factors in seeking help for mental health, and reinforce the lifelong disadvantage arising from adverse childhood experiences and the need to address these issues in adult mental health services.
The use of computer-simulated microworlds has become increasingly popular to test concepts related to naturalistic decision-making (NDM) in a controlled laboratory environment. However, the construct validity for such methods is unclear. The current study followed previous microworld-based studies that compared indirect (macromanagement) methods of management with direct methods (micromanagement). To explore the construct validity of microworld research, the current study compared performance scores generated by participants with experience in a prototypical NDM environment, with those without such experience. Using a networked computer simulation for firefighting, 10 Army officers and 10 civilians played the role of Fire Chief within three-person command and control teams. The two subordinates were confederates. Comparison of management structures supported previous results indicating that indirect control produces significantly better NDM performance. However, no difference was found between the experienced and inexperienced participant groups, questioning the construct validity of results produced using microworlds.
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