title: Help-seeking behaviors in a community sample of young adults with substance use disorders.
abstract: Despite the high prevalence of substance use disorders (SUDs) in the U.S., many with a SUD go untreated and/or report lengthy delays to help-seeking initiation. From a public health standpoint, because SUDs often emerge in early adulthood, information on help-seeking behaviors among young adults is important. Using data from young adults ages 18-23 years with a history of a SUD (n = 672) in Miami-Dade County, Florida, this study estimates the prevalence of lifetime help-seeking initiation and examines factors related to help seeking and delays to help-seeking initiation. The majority (68%) of young adults with a history of a SUD reported never having sought help, and those who reported help seeking experienced relatively lengthy delays (1-7 years) to help-seeking initiation. These findings underscore the need for both timely substance abuse treatment and for accelerated research on successful outreach strategies for young adults with SUDs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Affiliated Faculty, Partnership for Urban Health Research, Georgia State University, 1080-A, PO Box 5020, Atlanta, GA 30302-5020, USA. mgayman@gsu.edu
authors.forename: Mathew D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Gayman
authors.forename: Gary S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Cuddeback
authors.forename: Joseph P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Morrissey
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D011634:Public Health; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult