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Utah Youth Suicide Study: Barriers to Mental Health Treatment for Adolescents
Author(s) -
Moskos Michelle A.,
Olson Lenora,
Halbern Sarah R.,
Gray Doug
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
suicide and life‐threatening behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.544
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1943-278X
pISSN - 0363-0234
DOI - 10.1521/suli.2007.37.2.179
Subject(s) - mental health , denial , psychiatry , stigma (botany) , mental illness , suicide prevention , nothing , psychology , medicine , occupational safety and health , clinical psychology , poison control , medical emergency , psychotherapist , philosophy , epistemology , pathology
Forty‐nine suicide cases were drawn from an original sample of 151 consecutive youth suicide deaths. We used information from 270 interviews with parents and other survivors to evaluate mental health treatment sought for and by the decedent and barriers to mental health treatment. Participants reported the same primary barriers for the decedent: belief that nothing could help, seeking help is a sign of weakness or failure, reluctance to admit to having mental health problems, denial of problems, and too embarrassed to seek help. It is suggested that the stigma of mental illness is a considerable barrier to mental health treatment.