Citation

Lewis SF, Resnick HS, Ruggiero KJ, Smith DW, Kilpatrick DG, Best CL, Saunders BE. J. Trauma. Stress 2005; 18(2): 97-105.

Affiliation

National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA. sarah.hewis@meridianBhs.org

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/jts.20012

PMID

16281201

Abstract

Using a national probability household sample of 4,008 women, we estimated the prevalence and correlates of formal and informal help seeking. One-year prevalences of formal help seeking (e.g., seeking help from professional) and informal help seeking (e.g., seeking help from a relative or friend) were 10.6 and 6.6%, respectively. In the final multivariable model, increased likelihood of informal help seeking was associated with younger age, history of sexual assault, and past-year diagnoses of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive episode (MDE). Similarly, increased likelihood of formal help seeking was associated with younger age, Caucasian racial/ethnic status, history of sexual assault, history of physical assault, and past-year diagnoses of PTSD and MDE. Implications for helping professionals and public education programs are discussed.

Language: en