Department of Journalism and Communication Research, Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media, Expo Plaza 12, 30539, Hannover, Germany.
Center for Public Mental Health, Untere Zeile 13, 3482, Gösing am Wagram, Austria.
BMC Public Health. 2023 Jan 10;23(1):65. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-14998-0.
Seeking information on mental health issues - both for oneself and on behalf of others (so-called surrogate-seeking) - is a critical early step in dealing with mental illness and known to impede stigmatizing attitudes and foster help-seeking. Yet, knowledge about mental health tends to be insufficient worldwide. Therefore, it is necessary to better understand the search for mental health information and examine the factors that are positively associated with information-seeking.
In a face-to-face survey in Germany (N = 1,522), we investigated the factors related to mental health information-seeking. The data was analyzed by means of a logistic regression model, in which we distinguished those searching information for themselves from so-called surrogate seekers, i.e., people who seek information on behalf of someone else.
Twenty-six percent of German adults in our sample have already searched for information on mental health, with the majority already having searched for information for others (73% of all seekers). Our findings indicate that individuals' proximity to people with mental health issues, including their own mental health treatment experience (Cramer's V = .429, p < .001), education (Cramer's V = .184, p < .001), and desire for social distance from the affected people (F [1, 1516] = 73.580, p < .001, η = .046), play an important role in mental health information-seeking. The patterns of sociodemographic and proximity factors hereby differ between self-seekers and surrogate-seekers.
Our study provides insights into the public's mental health information orientation. The findings may particularly guide strategies to improve mental health awareness and fill knowledge gaps in supporting informed decision-making and reducing stigma. Surrogate seekers appear to be an important and distinctive target group for mental health information provision. Depending on whether one wants to promote surrogate- or self-seeking seekers, different target groups and determinants should be addressed.
寻求心理健康问题的信息——无论是为自己还是为他人（所谓的代寻）——是处理精神疾病的关键的第一步，并且已知其会阻碍污名化态度并促进寻求帮助。然而，全球范围内对心理健康的认识往往不足。因此，有必要更好地了解心理健康信息的搜索情况，并研究与信息搜索正相关的因素。
在德国进行的一项面对面调查（N=1522）中，我们调查了与心理健康信息搜索相关的因素。通过逻辑回归模型分析数据，其中我们区分了那些为自己搜索信息的人和所谓的代寻者，即代表他人搜索信息的人。
在我们的样本中，有 26%的德国成年人已经搜索过心理健康信息，其中大多数人已经为他人搜索过信息（所有搜索者的 73%）。我们的研究结果表明，个人与有心理健康问题的人之间的亲近程度，包括他们自己的心理健康治疗经验（Cramer's V=0.429，p<0.001）、教育程度（Cramer's V=0.184，p<0.001）以及与受影响者保持社会距离的愿望（F[1, 1516]=73.580，p<0.001，η=0.046）在心理健康信息搜索中起着重要作用。在此，社会人口统计学和接近因素的模式在自我搜索者和代寻者之间有所不同。
我们的研究提供了对公众心理健康信息取向的见解。这些发现可能特别有助于指导提高心理健康意识和填补支持知情决策和减少污名化的知识空白的策略。代寻者似乎是心理健康信息提供的一个重要且独特的目标群体。根据是要促进代寻者还是自我搜索者，应该针对不同的目标群体和决定因素。
