Help seeking in school by Israeli Arab minority adolescents with emotional and behavioral problems: results from the Galilee Study

Abstract

BackgroundMany distressed minority adolescents with little access to professional mental health services use teachers and school counselors as their main consultation sources. This paper presents data from the Galilee study on factors that may increase the probability of adolescents’ help-seeking in school and discusses the needed linkage between the school mental health services and those provided by other agencies, in the framework of the Mental Health Reform in Israel.MethodsThis cross-sectional survey included 1639, 9th grade students living in 5 Arab localities in the Galilee in northern Israel, representative of the Muslim and Druze populations. The study was carried out in two stages: in the screening stage, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was completed in the classroom. During the follow-up stage 704 students were selected and interviewed at home regarding service use in school and wellbeing at home. Their mothers were interviewed as well providing information on sociodemographic traits of the family. Total response rate was 69.3 % during the screening stage and 84.4 % during the follow-up. Students were categorized according to their SDQ scores and all students in the higher 25th percentile (high risk) and a simple systematic sample without replacement of those in the lower 75 % (low risk) were included in the follow-up study.ResultsSignificantly more high risk than low risk students reported having felt the need to seek professional help (14.0 and 6.5 % respectively) and more high risk than low risk consulted a school source (27.1 and 15.2 %, respectively). Bivariate analyses show that among Muslim adolescents more high risk than low risk consulted a school source (30 vs. 16.2 % respectively) and among high risk students more Muslim than Druze sought help from a school source (30 vs. 18 %). Higher consultation rates were found among adolescents who felt uncomfortable at home, than among those who felt very comfortable. Binary logistic regression showed that for high risk adolescents, only religion remained significantly associated with help-seeking in school: Muslim students were 2 times more likely to seek help than Druze students. In the low-risk group, students who do not feel comfortable at home were 3.3 times more likely to seek help than those who feel comfortable at home. The main sources of consultation for both risk groups were the school counselor and the grade teacher.ConclusionsA constellation of factors may be associated with help-seeking in school by minority Israeli Arab adolescents: they are students at higher risk for an emotional or behavioral disorder, they have more socio-economic hardship, they feel less comfortable at home and they are more likely to live in the larger Muslim cities. Adolescents with less family support and particularly those not classified as being at high risk, are more likely to seek help from school counselors and teachers. The school staff may need additional training to care for the mental health needs of students. There is a need to integr...

Barriers to help-seeking in Israeli Arab minority adolescents with mental health problems: results from the Galilee study

“…These findings may be related to the fact that both groups are familiar with or have had previous exposure to positive experiences with similar services. Our findings support studies that have found that the main variable promoting help-seeking is the existence of a mental disorder or mental distress in the adolescent [10, 31, 59–61], as well as those who have found that mental distress of the mother [60, 62, 63] and other problems in the household which require the intervention of the welfare agencies make help-seeking more likely. There is very likely an interplay between child and maternal health, their reciprocal relationships and cumulative disadvantage [64], which makes sense of the higher rates of mental problems among adolescents who experience poor parental emotional well-being and family adversity [65].…”

“…Structural contexts shape conditions of access—the number, type, affordability and quality of psychosocial supports available in a community and those resources necessary to access those further away [26–30]. Different organizational settings serve different populations: community-based mental health centers are usually accessible to parents, whereas teachers and school staff are an important and available source for consultation by both parents and the children themselves [5, 9, 25, 31–35]. Cultural factors influence perceptions of need for services, which rely upon one’s explanatory framework for psychosocial problems—beliefs about their origin, how they can best be resolved, and what constitutes a problem that is serious enough to necessitate assistance from a professional helper [14].…”

Predictors of Mental Health Help Seeking Among Cambodian Adolescents

“…It is well-established that health seeking behaviors are influenced by several factors such as manifestation of symptoms [10], gender [11], life satisfaction [7] and functional impairment [12]. Regarding help seeking for mental health problems, research has found that emotional problems, depression and anxiety are consistent predictors of mental health seeking behaviors among young people [13,14]. For example, a study conducted by Daeem et al found that seeking formal help for personal or emotional problems was higher for adolescents with symptoms of depression and higher for adolescents with symptoms of anxiety, compared to those with no symptoms [13].…”

“…Regarding help seeking for mental health problems, research has found that emotional problems, depression and anxiety are consistent predictors of mental health seeking behaviors among young people [13,14]. For example, a study conducted by Daeem et al found that seeking formal help for personal or emotional problems was higher for adolescents with symptoms of depression and higher for adolescents with symptoms of anxiety, compared to those with no symptoms [13]. The severity of depression, longer and more depressive episodes, and the presence of anxiety disorders are related to higher helpseeking rates [15].…”

Psychological counseling needs among middle and high school students with separated/divorced parents in Hue city

“…Family is an extremely important factor for each person, studies at home and abroad that can show that family cohesion, living circumstances, and the quality of family relationships are related to mental and psychological health problems in adolescents [26,27,28]. Younger people can seek help for mental health issues by talking to their family and friends, with families more important to younger teens [29]. Our study noted that students with unfulfilled family quality are likely to have needs for psychological counseling 2.38 (OR = 2.38; 95%CI: 1.39 -4.07) times higher than those with achieved family quality.…”