(PS3-8) Do Depressive Symptoms and Social Support Predict Mental Health Treatment Use?

Abstract Text: Enhancing accessibility to mental health care necessitates a comprehensive understanding of the psychosocial determinants that influence individuals' willingness to seek help. While individuals with depression may express a desire to alleviate their distress, symptoms such as diminished motivation, energy, and cognitive difficulties can make it more challenging to effectively navigate the mental health care system. Conversely, individuals with robust social networks, including familial and peer support, may find it easier to access mental health services. Those lacking such support may face challenges or active discouragement from seeking treatment. To better understand the psychosocial determinants of mental health treatment utilization, this study investigates the association between depression symptoms, family and friend support, and engagement with mental health services. Much of the work examining associations with treatment use rely on cross-sectional designs, which precludes testing whether associations are due to person-level (i.e., trait) or occasion-level (i.e., state) characteristics. We examined data from the Oregon Adolescent Depression Project (OADP) relying on up to seven longitudinal annual mailer assessments (n = 1414; total observations = 7974; 5.6 assessments per participant). At each assessment, participants reported their current depression symptoms, perceived family and peer social support, and mental health treatment use. Multi-level logistic regression analyses found that higher levels of depression at both the within- (b = .04, SE = .01, z = 6.07, p < .001) and between-person levels (b = .12, SE = .01, z = 9.34, p < .001), were associated with higher likelihood of treatment use. Higher levels of family support at both the within- (b = -.10, SE = .04, z = -2.47, p = .014) and between-person levels (b = -.11, SE = .06, z = -2.02, p = .044), were associated with lower likelihood of treatment use. Peer support was not associated with mental health treatment use at the within- (b = -.05, SE = .06, z = -.92, p = .356) or between-person levels (b = .07, SE = .10, z = .73, p = .456). A multivariate model inclusive of all three constructs found that between-person peer support (b = .37, SE = .10, z = 3.61, p < .001) and within- (b = .05, SE = .01, z = 5.39, p < .001) and between-person (b = .13, SE = .02, z = 7.71, p < .001) depression symptoms were associated with greater likelihood of treatment use. Overall, this study shows that trait- and state-characteristics are uniquely associated with mental health treatment use.