A multisite study of Air Force outpatient behavioral health treatment-seeking patterns and career impact

This study examined 1,068 cases of active duty Air Force service members seen in eight Air Force outpatient mental health clinics during a 1-year period. Age, gender, rank, marital status, special duty status, diagnostic category, treatment completion, and recommendations to the member's unit w...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Military medicine 2006-11, Vol.171 (11), p.1123-1127
Main Authors: Rowan, Anderson B, Campise, Rick L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aerospace Medicine - statistics & numerical data
Career Mobility
Careers
Clinics
Confidentiality
Counseling
Female
Humans
Male
Marital status
Mental disorders
Mental health
Mental Health Services - statistics & numerical data
Military Personnel - psychology
Military Psychiatry - statistics & numerical data
Occupational stress
Outpatients
Patient Acceptance of Health Care
Retrospective Studies
Stigma
Supervisors
United States
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This study examined 1,068 cases of active duty Air Force service members seen in eight Air Force outpatient mental health clinics during a 1-year period. Age, gender, rank, marital status, special duty status, diagnostic category, treatment completion, and recommendations to the member's unit were examined across referral sources (i.e., self-referred, supervisor-referred, or commander-directed). Results showed significant differences across all variables, with self-referred members being more likely to be older, single, higher ranking, and without special duty status, as well as to have a less significant axis I diagnosis. Self-referred members were less likely to have confidentiality broken and to have career-affecting recommendations made. The implications of these findings, in terms of targeting interventions to increase self-initiated help-seeking behavior, and recommendations for future research are discussed.
ISSN:0026-4075
1930-613X
DOI:10.7205/MILMED.171.11.1123