Disentangling Objective and Subjective Reasons for Foregoing Help for a Mental Health Issue

Despite advances in public understanding of mental health and the importance of mental health treatment, there is still a significant proportion of individuals who need help but do not seek out treatment. Existing research identifies a range of reasons including both subjective reasons (e.g. believing treatment will not work) and objective reasons (e.g. cost). However, there is limited understanding of how the variety of reasons people give for foregoing treatment group together. This study uses k-modes clustering analysis with a subsample of participants from the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys to determine (1) if there are identifiable subgroups of reasons for forgoing treatment for a mental health issue and (2) if these subgroups differ in terms of demographics and disorder-related variables. We identify four subgroups of reasons—one clearly comprised of subjective reasons, one clearly comprised of objective reasons, and two that are a mix. The demographic and disorder-related profiles of these clusters provide some additional insight into the interrelationship among reasons for not seeking help for a mental health issue. As such, this study can contribute to ongoing discussions about where to prioritize efforts to ensure that those in need are seeking treatment.