title: Prevalence of probable mental disorders and help-seeking behaviors among veteran and non-veteran community college students.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Millions of disadvantaged youth and returning veterans are enrolled in community colleges. Our objective was to determine the prevalence of mental disorders and help-seeking behaviors among community college students.
  
  
  METHODS
  Veterans (n=211) and non-veterans (n=554) were recruited from 11 community colleges and administered screeners for depression (PHQ-9), generalized anxiety (GAD-7), posttraumatic stress disorder (PC-PTSD), non-lethal self-injury, suicide ideation and suicide intent. The survey also asked about the perceived need for, barriers to and utilization of services. Regression analysis was used to compare prevalence between non-veterans and veterans adjusting for non-modifiable factors (age, gender and race/ethnicity).
  
  
  RESULTS
  A large proportion of student veterans and non-veterans screened positive and unadjusted bivariate comparisons indicated that student veterans had a significantly higher prevalence of positive depression screens (33.1% versus 19.5%, P<.01), positive PTSD screens (25.7% versus 12.6%, P<.01) and suicide ideation (19.2% versus 10.6%, P=.01). Adjusting for age, gender and race/ethnicity, veterans were significantly more likely than non-veterans to screen positive for depression (OR=2.10, P=.01) and suicide ideation (OR=2.31, P=.03). Student veterans had significantly higher odds of perceiving a need for treatment than non-veterans (OR=1.93, P=.02) but were more likely to perceive stigma (beta=0.28, P=.02). Despite greater need among veterans, there were no significant differences between veterans and non-veterans in use of psychotropic medications, although veterans were more likely to receive psychotherapy (OR=2.35, P=.046).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings highlight the substantial gap between the prevalence of probable mental health disorders and treatment seeking among community college students. Interventions are needed to link community college students to services, especially for student veterans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Health Services Research and Development, Center of Innovation for Veteran-Centered and Value-Driven Care, VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA 98108, USA. Electronic address: fortneyj@uw.edu.
authors.forename: John C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Fortney
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA; Health Services Research and Development, Center for Mental Healthcare and Outcomes Research, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, North Little Rock, AR 72114, USA; Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA.
authors.forename: Geoffrey M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Curran
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA; Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks, Fayetteville, AR 72703, USA.
authors.forename: Justin B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Hunt
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USA.
authors.forename: Ann M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Cheney
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA.
authors.forename: Liya
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Medical School, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Health Services Research and Development, Center for Clinical Management Research, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI 48105, USA.
authors.forename: Marcia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Valenstein
authors.affiliation: Health Management and Policy, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Eisenberg
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D001131:Arkansas / Q000453:epidemiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D000066505:Help-Seeking Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012044:Regression Analysis; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D057545:Social Stigma; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D059020:Suicidal Ideation; D014728:Veterans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D011619:Psychotropic Drugs
keywords: Community colleges; Psychiatric epidemiology; Service utilization; Veterans