•Adolescence is a peak period for the incidence of psychosocial problems.•Help-seeking behavior within social networks provides an important adaptive advantage.•Both informal help-seeking behavior ...and social support may have potential benefits.
The roles of help-seeking from informal sources and social support in their association with psychosocial outcomes during adolescence remain unclear. Yet, help-seeking behavior within informal and supportive social contexts brings young people into contact with a range of important resources with the potential to reduce the likelihood for poor psychosocial outcomes. This study presents a systematic review and meta-analysis exploring both help-seeking behavior from informal sources and social support in their association with psychosocial outcomes in adolescence. The meta-analysis examines 79 effect sizes from 8 studies, analyzing data on informal help-seeking from 5285 youth aged 12–19 years. For social support, the meta-analysis examines 378 effect sizes from 51 studies, analyzing data from 196,247 youth aged 12–19 years. The results of a series of random effects models showed significant associations between help-seeking from informal sources and each of externalizing behavior (OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.34, 0.56, p < .0001), educational outcomes (OR 2.24, 95% CI 1.84, 2.73, p < .0001) and other help-seeking behavior (e.g. help-seeking for peers; OR 2.43, 95% CI 1.97, 3.00, p < .0001). Results showed social support was significantly associated with internalizing behavior (OR 0.57, 95% CI 0.48, 0.68, p < .0001) and substance use (OR 0.74, 95% CI 0.65, 0.84, p < .0001). Social support also showed significant associations with bullying perpetration and victimization with effect sizes ranging from odds ratios of 0.55 to 0.68. Moderator analyses showed variation in results based on methodological-level (e.g. study design) and sample-level (e.g. gender) variables. Although it is difficult to draw overarching conclusions regarding help-seeking from informal sources, given the small number of included studies, findings of the meta-analysis showed that both help-seeking from informal sources and social support may have potential benefits in reducing the likelihood of poor psychosocial outcomes among adolescents. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors often do not seek critically needed help. A good understanding of the relationship between the pattern of violence and help-seeking is critical to developing ...adequate services for the survivors, as well as for reaching out to those who do not seek help. This study used the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey to examine how IPV survivor’s help-seeking varies, depending on the characteristics of the survivors and the pattern of victimization. Logistic regression analyses were conducted, with the survivors’ help-seeking and use of formal or informal help as the dependent variables. The study results show that women are the primary victims of IPV, that the pattern of victimization is associated with both whether survivors seek help or not, and which help sources they utilize, if any. IPV consequences are also associated with survivors’ help-seeking, as are demographic factors such as age, gender, race, and immigration status.
In this article we study the emergence of local solidarity in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis in Germany. The COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdown measures have had far-reaching and quite diverse ...consequences for different social groups, and have increased the need for practical help, childcare, financial aid, but also emotional support to cope with the psychological consequences of social isolation. Hence, even individuals who are not traditionally receivers of informal help have suddenly become dependent on it. Existing research on volunteering, caregiving and donations has shown that the provision of help and volunteer work has a social gradient, and that social inequalities therein can partly be explained by reference to individuals’ attitudes and social networks. Against this backdrop, we ask: (1) Has the COVID-19 pandemic sparked the emergence of a new local solidarity? (2) What types of help are provided, and to whom? (3) How does socio-economic position affect the provision of different forms of help during the COVID-19 crisis? (4) Which sociological mechanisms can explain these inequalities in helping? Using data from a topical online-survey based on a quota sample which was collected, during the heydays of the first lockdown in Germany, we find that one of two respondents engages in some sort of local solidarity. Depending on the recipient and the way of helping – up to half of these helping arrangements has newly emerged and does not build on already existing (pre-crisis) help-arrangements. Differences between income and educational groups can mostly be explained by attitudes and social networks. Embeddedness in formal networks is particularly important for extending help to previously unknown recipients in the community. This article contributes to the literature on the social origins of help and the initiation of social capital during crises in general, and the political discussion about solidarity in the COVID-19 pandemic in particular.
Objective:
Psychological distress and suicide rates are climbing in Australia despite substantial mental health programme investment in recent decades. Understanding where individuals prefer to seek ...support in the event of a personal or emotional crisis may help target mental health resources to where they are most needed. This study aimed to explore individual differences in help-seeking preferences that may be leveraged for early intervention and mental health service design.
Method:
Latent profile analysis was used to explore the help-seeking preferences of 1561 Australian online help-seekers who elected to complete a psychological distress screening on a popular mental health website, Beyond Blue.
Results:
Four latent profiles of help-seeker emerged that illustrate distinct preference channels for support: help-negaters, professional help-seekers, family help-seekers and help-affirmatives. Help-negaters were the least likely to consider seeking help from any source, recorded the highest levels of psychological distress and suicidal ideation, and were more likely to be younger. Help-affirmatives were the most likely to seek help from any source, particularly from religious leaders, and were more likely to speak a language other than English at home.
Conclusion:
Many individuals experiencing mental health concerns will prefer to seek support from family or community contacts rather than professionals, and some will not seek help at all. Diversity in help-seeking preferences should be considered when designing mental health services, outreach and psychoeducation materials.
People at risk of suicide frequently communicate suicidal thoughts to professionals and non-professionals. These groups, therefore, need to be aware of how best to respond.
We aimed to identify ...helpful and unhelpful responses to communications of suicide risk from the perspective of those at risk to inform suicide prevention messaging and education.
We conducted an online survey (n = 141) of members of an online reference group for an Australian mental health organisation with a history of suicide risk.
Most respondents had repeatedly considered and attempted suicide. Indirect suicide communications were more common than direct communications. Listening without judgement was the most common helpful response and "minimizing" responses to suicidal thoughts and feelings, the most common unhelpful responses.
We make recommendations for suicide prevention messages and professional education content based on these findings.
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 introduced new challenges to social cohesion across Europe. Epidemiological control measures instituted in almost all European countries have ...impacted the possibility to provide help to others. In addition, individual characteristics contributed to whether individuals were able and willing to provide help to or receive help from others. Against this background, we focus on how private support networks of individuals aged 50 years and older across Europe were directly or indirectly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The focus of the paper is on the supply side. While the older population has been mainly perceived as recipients of instrumental help in the COVID-19 pandemic, the paper examines the patterns of providing instrumental help to others by the older generations and their changes during the pandemic. Has the provision of instrumental help increased or decreased in the course of the COVID-19 crisis? Have the groups of recipients changed during the pandemic? What were key determinants for helping others in 2021 as compared to the first phase of the pandemic 1 year before? And how did this differ across countries with different degrees of affectedness by COVID-19? To answer these questions, we analyzed representative data from the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) and, in particular, the two waves of the SHARE Corona Survey, fielded in 27 European countries and Israel in 2020 and 2021. Results based on data from more than 45,000 respondents aged 50+ showed that help from children to parents has strongly increased in the first phase of the pandemic, while the opposite (parents helping their children) has decreased–especially in countries that have been hit hardest by the pandemic in 2020. This changed with the continuing crisis. Instrumental help provided to non-kin that was common in Western Europe in the first phase of the pandemic, yielding an optimistic view of increasing solidarity after the outbreak of COVID-19, strongly decreased 1 year later. Our findings provide a contribution to comparative research on micro- and macro-determinants that are crucial for the understanding of intergenerational support in times of crisis.
This article uses data from the 2015 Spanish Survey on Violence Against Women, a nationally representative survey of 10,171 women aged 16 or above, to analyze the relationship between the severity of ...intimate partner violence and formal and informal help-seeking strategies, the link between the severity of abuse and the reasons for not seeking formal help, and the influence of social reactions to violence disclosure on the process of leaving a violent relationship. The results show that in Spain, many abused women disclose violence and seek help. However, the severity of the violence strongly determines their help-seeking strategies, especially the search for formal help. Women who experienced less severe incidents tended to minimize their importance and did not seek formal help. For informal help, the differences were smaller, and a high proportion of women talked about the abuse with someone within their social environment, regardless of the severity of the suffered violence. A supportive reaction to violence disclosure had a strong and positive influence on the process of leaving the abusive relationship. The implications of these findings for the design of public policies, education, and awareness-raising campaigns are discussed.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurological disease that may cause several different symptoms, some which may entail the need for help in daily life. The aim of this study was to explore the ...association between sociodemographic background factors and the use of personal assistance and home help services (home help) among persons with MS in Sweden. The study was based on cross-sectional survey data merged with register data and included 3,863 persons with MS aged 20-51. Binary logistic regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with the use of personal assistance and home help. The central finding of this study was that grade of impairment, as determined by the Expanded Disability Status Scale for Multiple Sclerosis (EDSS), was the most important variable associated with the use of both personal assistance (p < 0.001, OR 18.83) and home help (p < 0.001, OR 6.83). Living alone and receiving sickness benefit were also both associated with the use of personal assistance (p < 0.001, OR 3.32; p 0.001, OR 3.32) and home help (p 0.004, OR 2.56; p 0.011, OR 2.56). Stating a visible symptom of MS as being the most limiting factor of the disease (p 0.001, OR 2.73) and having a disposable income below the limit for poverty risk (p 0.02, OR 2.16) was associated with the use of personal assistance. Receiving informal, meaning unpaid, help (p 0.049, OR 1.89) was associated with the use of home help. Several background factors were controlled for but were not related to differences in the usage of formal help. The results indicated no significant differences in demographic characteristics that could be linked to unequal distribution. However, differences were found between those using personal assistance and home help. The latter were mainly affected by invisible symptoms, suggesting a plausible influencing factor in the chances of obtaining more comprehensive help in the form of personal assistance. Users of home help were also more likely to receive informal help than users of personal assistance, which may suggest that home help is not sufficient.
In this article, we study the receipt of informal support during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. The containment measures have had various, far-reaching consequences for the ...wellbeing of people, creating demands for economic, practical, and emotional support—even among individuals who hitherto were not in need of support. Existing research has shown substantial levels of informal support during the pandemic, often based on individuals’ existing social networks, but has predominantly taken the perspective of donors. In this article, we focus on the “demand” or recipient “side” of informal support, and ask: (1) Who receives which type of informal social support during the pandemic? (2) Who reports unmet need? (3) Which factors explain support receipt, unmet need and the type of support received? To explain patterns of receiving social support, we identify “classic” life course and “new” pandemic-specific risks and complement this perspective with individuals’ support potentials from their social networks. Empirically, we use data from an online survey, collected among a quota sample of the German population (n = 4,496) at the end of the first lockdown in late spring 2020. Our analysis shows that one in six respondents received social support, while only 3% report unmet need. Practical and emotional support are most widespread. Using logistic and multinomial logistic regression models our results show that social support in general and the type of support received can be explained by life course and pandemic risks, while unmet need is mainly a consequence of social network structure.
Providing help to a help-seeker depends on various factors such as the cost of helping, the presence of bystanders, empathy, distress, and characteristics of help-seekers. The present research ...explores the interplay of various factors when help is asked alone or accompanied, and how that influences helping behavior. We argue that help-providers will experience more empathy and distress for single help-seekers than multiple. Hence, we hypothesize that helping would be higher when the help-seekers ask for help alone than being accompanied. Four studies were conducted to test the hypothesis. The first two studies were vignette-based experiments, which examined the chances of helping a single and an accompanied help-seeker in two different help contexts. Study 3 examined the hypothesis in a real-life help context through a field experiment. The results of the three studies supported our hypothesis. Study 4 explored the reasons for such differential helping patterns. The result showed that the different levels of empathy and distress for alone and accompanied help-seekers led to differential helping in these two cases. These results are discussed using the empathy-altruism model, the negative state relief hypothesis, and the cost of helping/not-helping.
