Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Open Door Initiative, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
J Ment Health. 2023 Oct;32(5):899-909. doi: 10.1080/09638237.2023.2182418. Epub 2023 Mar 7.
Families play a critical role in supporting currently serving and transitioned veterans' wellbeing and help-seeking for mental health concerns; however, little is known about families' experiences.
This study used Australian national survey linked-data (n = 1217) from families (Family Wellbeing Study-FWS) and veterans (Mental Health Wellbeing Transition Study-MHWTS) to understand veteran-family help-seeking relationships.
Veterans' and family members' responses to mental health and help-seeking questions in FWS and MHWTS datasets from perspective of family members were cross-tabulated. Help-seeking support provided by family members was compared by veterans' probable disorder.
Results highlighted high levels of involvement and continuous assistance provided by families. Two in three family members thought the veteran had probable mental health concerns although they have never been diagnosed or treated. Clear disparities between family and veteran perspectives regarding mental health concerns indicates the extent of non-treatment seeking in this population, missed opportunities for early intervention, and need for greater support to families to promote help-seeking.
Encouraging help-seeking is complex for veteran families particularly where veterans' reluctance to seek help may lead to family relationship strain and conflict. Families need early information, support, and recognition by service agencies of the role of the family in encouraging help-seeking.
家庭在支持现役和退伍军人的幸福感以及帮助他们寻求心理健康问题方面发挥着至关重要的作用；然而，人们对家庭的经验知之甚少。
本研究使用了来自家庭（家庭幸福感研究-FWS）和退伍军人（心理健康幸福感过渡研究-MHWTS）的澳大利亚全国调查链接数据（n=1217），了解退伍军人-家庭寻求帮助的关系。
从家庭成员的角度交叉核对 FWS 和 MHWTS 数据集中年退伍军人和家庭成员对心理健康和寻求帮助问题的回答。比较了家庭成员提供的寻求帮助支持，根据退伍军人可能的障碍进行了比较。
结果突出了家庭高度参与和持续提供的帮助。尽管从未被诊断或治疗过，但三分之二的家庭成员认为退伍军人有心理健康问题。家庭和退伍军人对心理健康问题的看法之间明显存在差异，表明该人群中未接受治疗的程度、早期干预的机会错失以及需要为家庭提供更大的支持以促进寻求帮助。
鼓励寻求帮助对退伍军人家庭来说很复杂，特别是在退伍军人不愿意寻求帮助可能导致家庭关系紧张和冲突的情况下。家庭需要及早获得信息、支持，并得到服务机构的认可，以认识到家庭在鼓励寻求帮助方面的作用。
