Openness to help-seeking for mental illness among Greek-Cypriots
- Authors: Alexi, Nektarios , Moore, Kathleen , Argyrides, Marios
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Health Promotion International Vol. 33, no. 6 (2018), p.990-998
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- Description: The aim of this study was to test a model of people’s willingness to seek help for mental illness whether currently diagnosed or not. A cross-sectional design was used to test this model in a non-clinical convenience sample of Greek-Cypriots. Participants were 196 Greek-Cypriots living in Cyprus (age M = 34.50 years, SD = 14.16). They provided demographic data on their age, gender, SES and whether diagnosed or not with a mental illness, from whom they have/would seek help for a mental illness, and their willingness to seek help. They completed the Inventory of Attitudes towards Seeking Mental Health Services, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Support, and the Practical Barriers in Seeking Mental Health Services Scales, translated into Greek for this study. Approximately 24% of the sample reported being diagnosed with a mental illness within the past 12 months, and around a third of these people were taking prescribed medication. Willingness to seek help across all participants was predicted negatively by stigma and positively by openness to help. The findings of the current study extend our previous limited understanding of the factors affecting people’s willingness to seek help or their intentions towards the use of mental health services among Greek-Cypriots. Future research should consider whether there are any differences in help-seeking behaviours and motivations across people experiencing different disorders. Despite this limitation in the current data, these results can, in general terms, be used to inform policy in Cyprus for mental health promotions and interventions especially with respect to fostering an open attitude towards mental illness.
Influences on women in rural and regional areas help-seeking behaviour during the perinatal period
- Authors: Moore, Kathleen , Carey, Timothy , Wall, Cindy
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Australian Rural and Remote Mental Health Symposium p. 39-52
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- Description: A substantial level of depression and anxiety is experienced by women in the perinatal period. This distress might be exacerbated for women in the Northern Territory who reside there temporarily as a function of family-work circumstances and hence may have a limited local social support network; while other women, most notably Indigenous women, who live remotely, might experience issues because of distance, culture, and language. There is limited research concerning depression and anxiety in the perinatal period among women living in these rural and remote areas or in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. It is generally considered however, that the incidence will be at least on a par with the general population. Many women no matter their cultural or social circumstances fail to seek help from primary care professionals for emotional distress during the perinatal period and indeed, such distress often is not detected even during routine health visits. These low detection and help-seeking rates can lower the quality of life and increase the morbidity rate among these women in later life, and potentially have an impact on their offspring and partners. Women in rural and remote regions who do seek help may face additional barriers in accessing and/or completing a sequence of treatment. In this paper, we propose a model of help-seeking which is specific to women in the perinatal period taking account of rural and remote factors. The model remains to be validated but the importance of determining factors which influence women’s decision to seek help for psychological issues during this time cannot be overemphasised.
Psychological flexibility : positive implications for mental health and life satisfaction
- Authors: Lucas, James , Moore, Kathleen
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Health promotion international Vol. 35, no. 2 (2020), p. 312-320
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- Description: New wave therapies such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy aim to cultivate people's psychological flexibility in order for them to live a satisfying life. Psychological flexibility has also a role in promoting mental health, which may mediate the relationship with life satisfaction. The aim of this study was to determine whether mental health mediates the effect of psychological flexibility on life satisfaction. A convenience sample of 140 adults (32 males, M = 36.50 years, SD = 12.22; 107 females, M = 38.46 years, SD = 12.81; and a 45-year-old person of unknown gender) completed an online questionnaire assessing psychological flexibility, mental health and life satisfaction. Three of the four hypothesized components of psychological flexibility (experiential acceptance, cognitive alternatives and cognitive control) contributed to the latent construct of psychological flexibility, but cognitive defusion failed to contribute. Psychological flexibility had a direct, positive effect on life satisfaction and the hypothesis that mental health would mediate this relationship was supported. The results suggest that psychological flexibility is important for one's mental health and that both are integral to life satisfaction. The results also support a continued focus on third-wave therapies in cultivating psychological flexibility. © The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.