Discrepancies between clinical needs and helpseeking behaviors in co-occurring posttraumatic stress and alcohol use disorders.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of the study was to compare subjects dually diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) to those with only one or none of these conditions regarding helpseeking needs and behaviors.


METHODS
Data from a large community sample (N=3694) were used to assess the associations among lifetime PTSD and AUD, other psychiatric disorders, clinical characteristics and lifetime helpseeking behaviors derived from a semi-structured interview.


RESULTS
Comorbid individuals had more severe clinical profiles and were more impaired than individuals with either PTSD or AUD alone or those with no/other psychiatric conditions. However, they did not differ in overall helpseeking behavior from any other group. Those with comorbid PTSD/AUD were even less likely than the other groups to seek help for depression and anxiety disorders through specific treatment facilities or the use of prescribed psychotropic drugs.


CONCLUSIONS
Despite a greater need for treatment the comorbid group did not seek more help than the others. Their lower use of prescribed drugs supports the self-medication hypothesis, suggesting that those individuals relieve their symptoms through higher alcohol use instead. Our findings underline the need for health care facilities to encourage helpseeking behavior in the aftermath of stressful life events.
Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Zurich University Hospital of Psychiatry, Zurich, Switzerland. Electronic address: mario.mueller@dgsp.uzh.ch.
Mario
M
Müller
Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Zurich University Hospital of Psychiatry, Zurich, Switzerland.
Stephanie
S
Rodgers
Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Zurich University Hospital of Psychiatry, Zurich, Switzerland; Collegium Helveticum, University of Zurich and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland; Institute of Psychiatry, Laboratory of Neuroscience (LIM 27), University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Wulf
W
Rössler
Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Enrique
E
Castelao
Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Martin
M
Preisig
Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Zurich University Hospital of Psychiatry, Zurich, Switzerland.
Vladeta
V
Ajdacic-Gross
Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Caroline
C
Vandeleur
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D000066505:Help-Seeking Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology*; D013557:Switzerland