Sydney Health Literacy Lab, Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia.
J Clin Psychol. 2023 Jan;79(1):68-85. doi: 10.1002/jclp.23410. Epub 2022 Jul 8.
People with depression experience barriers to seeking professional help. Different diagnostic terminology can influence people's treatment/management preferences. The aim of this study was to investigate how alternative depression diagnostic labels and recommendations impact help-seeking intentions and psychosocial outcomes.
Participants (18-70 years) were recruited using an online panel (Australia) to complete a randomized controlled trial. They read a hypothetical scenario where they discussed experiencing depressive symptoms with their GP and were randomized to receive one of four diagnoses ("depression," "burnout," "functional impairment syndrome" [fictitious label], no label [control]), and one of two follow-up recommendations ("clinical psychologist," "mind coach").
help-seeking intention (5-point scale, higher = greater intention); secondary outcomes: intention to speak to boss, self-stigma, worry, perceived severity, illness perceptions, and personal stigma.
A total of 676 participants completed the survey. There was no main effect of diagnostic label on help-seeking intention or stigma outcomes. Intention to speak to a boss was higher with the depression compared to burnout label (MD = 0.40, 95% CI: 0.14-0.66) and perceived severity was higher with the depression label compared to control (MD = 0.48, 95% CI: 0.22-0.74) and all other labels. Those who received the "clinical psychologist" recommendation reported higher help-seeking intention (MD = 0.43, 95% CI: 0.25-0.60) and treatment control (MD = 0.69, 95% CI: 0.29-1.10) compared to the "mind coach" recommendation.
Findings highlight the success of efforts to promote help-seeking from clinical psychologists for depression. If burnout is considered a separate diagnostic entity to depression, greater awareness around what such a diagnosis means may be needed. Future research should examine how different terminologies surrounding other mental health conditions impact help-seeking and stigma.
抑郁症患者在寻求专业帮助时会遇到障碍。不同的诊断术语可能会影响人们的治疗/管理偏好。本研究旨在调查替代抑郁诊断标签和建议如何影响寻求帮助的意愿和心理社会结果。
参与者（18-70 岁）通过在线小组（澳大利亚）招募完成一项随机对照试验。他们阅读了一个假设的情景，讨论了他们与全科医生一起经历抑郁症状，并被随机分配接受四种诊断之一（“抑郁症”、“倦怠”、“功能障碍综合征”[虚构标签]、无标签[对照]），并接受两种随访建议之一（“临床心理学家”、“心理教练”）。
帮助寻求意愿（5 分制，分数越高表示意愿越强）；次要结果：与老板交谈的意愿、自我污名、担忧、感知严重程度、疾病观念和个人污名。
共有 676 名参与者完成了调查。诊断标签对寻求帮助的意愿或污名结果没有主要影响。与倦怠标签相比，抑郁标签更能提高与老板交谈的意愿（MD=0.40，95%CI：0.14-0.66），与对照组和所有其他标签相比，抑郁标签更能提高感知严重程度（MD=0.48，95%CI：0.22-0.74）。接受“临床心理学家”建议的人报告说，寻求帮助的意愿（MD=0.43，95%CI：0.25-0.60）和治疗控制（MD=0.69，95%CI：0.29-1.10）更高，与接受“心理教练”建议相比。
研究结果强调了为促进寻求临床心理学家治疗抑郁症而付出的努力的成功。如果倦怠被认为是抑郁症的一个独立诊断实体，可能需要更多地了解这样的诊断意味着什么。未来的研究应研究围绕其他心理健康状况的不同术语如何影响寻求帮助和污名。
