Improving Mental Health Treatment Utilization in Military Veterans: Examining the Effects of Perceived Need for Care and Social Support

Abstract

Objective Many veterans with mental health problems do not adequately utilize needed care. Research has focused on identifying barriers to mental health care in veterans. Method The current study adds to existing literature by examining whether perceived need for treatment and social support affect treatment utilization in a national longitudinal survey of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans (n = 1090). Results The Health Beliefs Model (HBM) postulates that a key reason why patients fail to obtain needed care is their belief "it's up to me to handle my own problems." This view was endorsed by 42% in the current national sample of veterans and was found in multivariate analysis to predict less treatment seeking in the next year. Mediation analysis revealed that veterans with higher ratings of social support were less likely to believe they needed to solve mental health problems on their own, indirectly equating to higher odds of treatment use. Simultaneously, findings indicated that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) had a direct effect on more mental health visits but was also associated with higher endorsement that one needed to handle one's own problems and thus had an indirect effect of reducing mental health visits. Conclusion Both social support and PTSD affected veterans' perceptions of needing to solve one's own problems, significantly predicted follow-up with mental health care. As a result, the findings indicate that clinicians' should explore veterans' belief systems about perceived treatment need as well as investigate the role of social support to improve mental health treatment utilization.

Heterogeneity of posttraumatic stress symptomatology and social connectedness in treatment-seeking military veterans: a longitudinal examination

“…For example, improving the quality and frequency of social connection may facilitate veterans' engagement in PTSD treatment and response to treatment. This premise is supported by previous research showing that family support for treatment increases veterans' likelihood of staying in treatment (Meis et al, 2019) and that veterans with more social support were less likely to endorse the belief that it is up to them to handle their problems and more likely to seek treatment (Graziano & Elbogen, 2017). Further, family involvement in PTSD care was associated with more PTSD symptom reduction (Laws, Glynn, McCutcheon, Schmitz, & Hoff, 2017), and greater social support predicts better PTSD treatment response (Price, Gros, Strachan, Ruggiero, & Acierno, 2013;Price et al, 2018;Shnaider, Sijercic, Wanklyn, Suvak, & Monson, 2017).…”

The impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on treatment‐seeking veterans in the United Kingdom with preexisting mental health difficulties: A longitudinal study

“…Second, the study had a low response rate (34.5%), and it is worth considering whether the present findings may be generalized to the wider population of veterans with preexisting mental health difficulties. Veterans face many barriers that prevent them from seeking support (e.g., Murphy & Busuttil, 2019; Rafferty et al., 2017), and those with higher levels of social support may be more inclined to use psychological support (Graziano & Elbogen, 2017). Veterans with lower levels of social support, who appear to be particularly vulnerable to mental health deterioration during the COVID‐19 pandemic, may have been underrepresented in the present study.…”

Impact of perceived social support on fear of missing out (FoMO): A moderated mediation model

“…Perceived social support refers to the degree to which individuals believe they have social support and the impression whether they are supported by their social network (Barrera, 1986;Kuru & Piyal, 2018). Perceived social support can reduce individuals' negative psychological characteristics (Al-Gamal, Bin Saeed, Victor, & Long, 2019;Jacobson, Lord, & Newman, 2017;Henry et al, 2019) and it has an important impact on individuals' physical and mental health (Graziano & Elbogen, 2017;Itzick, Kagan, & Tal-Katz, 2017;Sirois, Millings, & Hirsch, 2016). The social causality model indicates that lack of social support can lead to anxiety.…”