title: Associations between adult attachment style and mental health care utilization: Findings from a large-scale national survey.
abstract: This study investigated the association between attachment style and the use of a range of mental health services controlling socio-demographic, physical and psychological risk factors. Using a large nationally representative sample from the US National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R), a total of 5645 participants (18+) were included. The majority of participants reported their attachment as secure (63.5%), followed by avoidant (22.2%), unclassified (8.8%), and anxious (5.5%). The percentages using different health services studied varied widely (1.1-31.1%). People with insecure (anxious and avoidant) attachment were more likely to report accessing a hotline, having had a session of psychological counselling or therapy, getting a prescription or medicine for mental and behavioural problems. Individuals with anxious attachment only were also more likely to report the use of internet support groups or chat rooms. This is a first analysis to explore relationships between self-reported adult attachment style and a wide range of health care services. Insecurely attached individuals were more likely to use a wide range of health care services even after controlling for socio-demographic factors, psychiatric disorders and chronic health conditions. These findings suggest that adult attachment plays an important role in the use of mental health care services.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Canada.
authors.forename: Xiangfei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Canada.
authors.forename: Carl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: D'Arcy
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Canada. Electronic address: camelia.adams@usask.ca.
authors.forename: G Camelia
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Adams
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019962:Reactive Attachment Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D060756:Social Networking; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Attachment; Health services; Mental disorders; Mental health