1. Assault, psychiatric diagnoses, and sociodemographic variables in relation to help-seeking behavior in a national sample of women.
- Author
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Lewis SF, Resnick HS, Ruggiero KJ, Smith DW, Kilpatrick DG, Best CL, and Saunders BE
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Adult, Age Distribution, Aged, Crime Victims psychology, Crime Victims statistics & numerical data, Demography, Female, Humans, Middle Aged, Prevalence, Psychometrics, United States epidemiology, Battered Women psychology, Battered Women statistics & numerical data, Patient Acceptance of Health Care statistics & numerical data, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic epidemiology, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic psychology, Violence psychology, Violence statistics & numerical data
- 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.
- Published
- 2005
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