title: Barriers to use of mental health services by Japanese university students.
abstract: The present cross-sectional study assessed the attitude of Japanese undergraduates towards mental health services and investigated whether mental distress is associated with reluctance to use, and a decreased perceived need for, mental health services. A convenience sample of 194 students (98 men and 96 women) completed the 28-item Japanese version of the General Health Questionnaire and questions regarding reluctance to use and perceived need for mental health services. Participants were in the second to fourth years of undergraduate work and their majors were psychology and technology. Analyses showed that approximately 70% of students were reluctant to use mental health services and this reluctance was less in the group scoring high on anxiety and insomnia than the group scoring lower. Also, perceived need for mental health services was higher for those scoring high on depression. There were some discrepancies in the results and previous studies. Implications of these findings for clinical and preventive practice and for direction for research are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gerontological Policy (Health Polifor the Aged), National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, 36-3 Gengo Morioka-cho Obu-shi Aichi 474-8522 Japan. sasaki@nils.go.jp
authors.forename: Megumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sasaki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities