The DOI matches its Crossref record, with a small difference in title or year; 23 of the 24 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Internet information-seeking in mental health: Population survey
Open accessAbstract
Background: A major use of the internet is for health information-seeking. There has been little research into its use in relation to mental health. Aims: To investigate the prevalence of internet use for mental health information-seeking and its relative importance as a mental health information source. Method: General population survey. Questions covered internet use, past psychiatric history and the 12-item General Health Questionnaire. Results: Eighteen per cent of all internet users had used the internet for information related to mental health. The prevalence was higher among those with a past history of mental health problems and those with current psychological distress. Only 12% of respondents selected the internet as one of the three most accurate sources of information, compared with 24% who responded that it was one of the three sources they would use. Conclusions: The internet has a significant role in mental health information-seeking. The internet is used more than it is trusted.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The check wasn’t confident either way, so it gives no verdict — never disputed.
In the citing paper
“Moreover, carers often report that they would like interventions to be offered and delivered via flexible and self-paced packages, ideally via online mediums, which can be managed around their commitments (Powell & Clarke, 2006;Powell et al., 2013;Powell, Jennings, Armstrong, Sturt, & Dale, 2009;Sin, Moone, Harris, Scully, & Wellman, 2012).”
From eHealth interventions for family carers of people with long term illness: A promising approach? (2018) · cites this paper as Powell & Clarke, 2006
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
(1988) · NFER-Nelson eBooks · Cited by 5,560
The detection of psychiatric illness by questionnaire
Levy, R. (1973) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/0022-3999(73)90039-1 · Cited by 2,707
Increasing response rates to postal questionnaires: systematic review
Edwards, P. J., Roberts, I., Clarke, M. J., DiGuiseppi, C. G., Pratap, S., Wentz, R., & Kwan, I. (2002) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.324.7347.1183 · Cited by 1,915
Consumer health information seeking on the internet: the state of the art
Cline, R. J. W. (2001) · Health Education Research · doi:10.1093/her/16.6.671 · Cited by 1,708
Looking for Information: A Survey of Research on Information Seeking, Needs, and Behavior
(2016) · Studies in information · doi:10.1108/s2055-53772016 · Cited by 1,537
Use of the Internet and E-mail for Health Care Information: Results From a National Survey
Baker, L., Wagner, T. H., Singer, S., & Bundorf, M. K. (2003) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.289.18.2400 · Cited by 1,129
Delivering interventions for depression by using the internet: randomised controlled trial
Christensen, H. (2004) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.37945.566632.ee · Cited by 928 · cited 1×
“…has examined the use of internet communities (Powell et al, 2003), developed and evaluated online interventions such as internet-based therapy (Christensen et al, 2004; Griffiths et al, 2004; Andersson et al, 2005) and assessed the quality of information on mental health websites (Griffiths &…”
BackgroundGriffiths, K. M., Christensen, H., Jorm, A. F., Evans, K., & Groves, C. (2004) · British Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1192/bjp.185.4.342 · Cited by 789
McColl, E., Jacoby, A., Thomas, L., Soutter, J. L., Bamford, C., Steen, N., Thomas, R., Harvey, E., Garratt, A., & Bond, J. B. (2001) · Health Technology Assessment · doi:10.3310/hta5310 · Cited by 779
Help-seeking behaviour in men and women with common mental health problems: cross-sectional study
Oliver, M. I., Pearson, N., Coe, N., & Gunnell, D. (2005) · British Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1192/bjp.186.4.297 · Cited by 558
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- Purdon, 2003, Trends in Non-response on Social Surveys – The Survey Context for the One Number Census
- Dutton, 2005, The Internet in Britain: The Oxford Internet Survey (OxIS)
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 201–254 of 254
Harper, K. M. (2019) · Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) · doi:10.17615/j997-0s97 · Cited by 3
Vourtsis, S. A., Alevrogianni, K., & Simou, E. (2026) · Aesthetic Surgery Journal · doi:10.1093/asj/sjag023 · Cited by 4
Duranceau, S., Zamorski, M. A., & Carleton, R. N. (2019) · Journal of Military Veteran and Family Health · doi:10.3138/jmvfh.2018-0044 · Cited by 2
Peng, L., Zhang, N., & Huang, L. (2024) · Journal of Global Information Management · doi:10.4018/jgim.345919 · Cited by 3
Instatherapy: A Content Analysis of Psychotherapists' Instagram Posts and User Engagement
Greene, A. K., Brownstone, L. M., Dong, Y., Hunsicker, M. J., Cool, J., Maloul, E. K., & Norling, H. N. (2025) · Counselling and Psychotherapy Research · doi:10.1002/capr.12877 · Cited by 2
Migration and Urban Mental Health in China
Chen, J. (2016) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-981-10-0752-1_15-1 · Cited by 2
Undergraduate College Students' Attitudes About Internet-based Mental Health Interventions
Palmer, K. M. (2015) · Digital Commons - University of South Florida (University of South Florida) · Cited by 2
Translating theory and evidence into practice: What is the role of health professionals?
Faulkner, G., & Taylor, A. H. (2012) · Mental health and physical activity · doi:10.1016/j.mhpa.2012.04.002 · Cited by 4
Using digital technologies in community mental health
Treanor, A., Abrar, A., Harris, K., Morris, E., & Carson, J. F. (2010) · Social Work and Social Sciences Review · doi:10.1921/swssr.v14i3.498 · Cited by 2
Quality Assessment of Information About Pit and Fissure Sealants in Persian Websites in 2012.
Nilchian, F., & Ghasemi, L. (2016) · PubMed Central · Cited by 2
Cognitive Theories of Depression in Online Peer Support Forums: Exploring the Cognitive Triad
Pierce, N. E., & Hoelterhoff, M. (2017) · Journal of European Psychology Students · doi:10.5334/jeps.405 · Cited by 3
“Use of an OF for this purpose reflects both the significance of the internet as a resource for mental health information (Powell & Clarke, 2006), and the utility of internet forums for providing support for depression (Savolainen, 2011).”
BackgroundAli, L. (2013) · Gothenburg University Publications Electronic Archive (Gothenburg University) · Cited by 2
Colledge, A., Car, J., & Majeed, A. (2008) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd007092 · Cited by 3
Epstein, R., Mei, K. X., Newland, A., Rivera, L., Singhi, S., & Wang, N. (2025) · Psychological Reports · doi:10.1177/00332941251340307 · Cited by 1
“” Because more and more people are now going fi rst to the internet to get information about health and mental health (Kalckreuth et al., 2014; Powell & Clarke, 2006; Pretorius et al., 2019), the rapid proliferation of nonvalidated tests is a serious problem that has no obvious solution.”
Jones, R. B., Goldsmith, L., Hewson, P., Boulos, M. N. K., & Williams, C. J. (2012) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2011-000800 · Cited by 1
“health.(2) Among younger people, this may be much higher.”
Girard, A., Boucher, V. G., & Sercia, P. (2016) · Canadian Psychology/Psychologie canadienne · doi:10.1037/cap0000071 · Cited by 1
Decoding Distress: How Search Engine Data Reveals Socioeconomic Disparities in Mental Health
Fu, H. (2024) · Conference on Human Information Interaction and Retrieval · doi:10.1145/3627508.3638323 · Cited by 1
“This is particularly notable in mental health, where the anonymity of the digital domain offers a respite from potential societal judgments [12].”
BackgroundEvaluating Mental Health Literacy among Iranian Women: A Cross-Sectional Study
Jafari, R. M., Zenoozian, S., & Hajimiri, K. (2024) · Journal of Human Environment and Health Promotion · doi:10.61186/jhehp.10.2.89 · Cited by 2
Are the Websites of the Dentistry Faculties in Turkey Adequate for Informing Pediatric Patients?
Akgün, S. E., & Okumuş, İ. (2024) · MIDDLE BLACK SEA JOURNAL OF HEALTH SCIENCE · doi:10.19127/mbsjohs.1484755 · Cited by 1
Yeğenoğlu, S., Aslan, D., & Şahne, B. S. (2012) · Telemedicine Journal and e-Health · doi:10.1089/tmj.2011.0129 · Cited by 1
Κωσταγιόλας, Π., Korfiatis, N., & Alexias, G. (2013) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.2242976 · Cited by 1
“Data for this study was collected using a questionnaire mainly composed of the instruments used by Feeney and Moran (Feeney and Moran, 2007) and Powell and Clarke (Powell and Clarke, 2006).”
Alternative interventions for young men's mental health.
McGale, N. (2011) · Arrow@dit (Dublin Institute of Technology) · Cited by 1
Tyrer, P. J. (2008) · The British Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1192/bjp.193.6.524 · Cited by 1
Pirkis, J., Whiteford, H., Jorm, T., Harris, M., Reavley, N. J., Siskind, D. J., Bassilios, B., Diminic, S., Robinson, J., Carstensen, G., et al. (2014)
Noguchi, S., Ogino, D., & Satō, H. (2015) · Health Policy and Technology · doi:10.1016/j.hlpt.2015.10.002
“Though many studies have examined patient information-seeking behavior on general medical information, little is known about clinical trial information [16–28].”
BackgroundJauhari, A., Tiptur, M. K., Jauhari, A., & Krishna, M. (2011) · European Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s0924-9338(11)72822-x
Alexias, G., Zimeras, S., Κωσταγιόλας, Π., & Siskou, Z. (2015) · Annals of information systems · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-23341-3_14 · Cited by 1
Shepherd, C., Rickard, K., Davalos, D., Butki, B., & Ross, S. (2007) · Digital Collections of Colorado (Colorado State University) · doi:10.25675/3.019859
Literacia em Saúde Mental de Adolescentes e Jovens sobre Depressão e Abuso de Álcool
Teresa, A., & Pedreiro, S. (2013)
Evaluating Use of an Online Intervention for Cancer Patients with Distress
Gorlick, A. (2013) · The Scholars Repository - LLU (Loma Linda University)
Yan, L. (2013) · ResearchWorks at the University of Washington (University of Washington)
Time as a trigger for health information seeking
Tana, J. (2018) · Informaatiotutkimus · doi:10.23978/inf.76090
“Within depression research, both diurnal as well as seasonal variations have been shown to be somewhat irregular, and the presence and direction of these variations are decidedly inconclusive over time (Hasler, 2013; Powell & Clarke, 2006).”
BackgroundCyberpathologies and Cybertherapies
Norman, K. L. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316212554.014
Mediated Coping: A Spectrum of Digital Engagement
Hodkinson, P., & Das, R. (2021) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-66482-4_4
Jacbs, R. S. W., & BILLING., G. C. (2018)
Larner, A. J. (2011) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-0-85729-691-7_1
Shirdel, S., Araminia, B., Salehi, M., Arezoomandan, R., Shalbafan, M., Kamalzadeh, L., & Shariat, S. V. (2022) · Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.32598/ijpcp.27.4.3287.2
Migration and Urban Mental Health in China
Chen, J. (2017) · Mental health and illness worldwide · doi:10.1007/978-981-10-2327-9_15
Versorgung und Versorgungssystem
DGBS, & DGPPN (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-662-61153-1_7
(2009) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-2-294-70815-2.00024-6
Telger, A., Lencer, R., Arolt, V., & Notzon, S. (2022) · Fortschritte der Neurologie · Psychiatrie · doi:10.1055/a-1946-5357
“In semi-standardized interviews, we surveyed 200 psychiatric Einleitung Viele Menschen nutzen das Internet, um sich über Gesundheitsfra-gen und psychische Probleme zu informieren [1–3].”
Jeannic, A. L., Turmaine, K., Gandré, C., Vinet, M.-A., Michel, M., & Chevreul, K. (2022) · doi:10.2196/preprints.44995
Google’s Ventricular Tachycardia
Elías, J., & Silva, M. A. (2023) · Journal of Cardiac Arrhythmias · doi:10.24207/jca.v36i1.3476
Sidana, A. K., Aggarwal, S., Jhalli, A., & Kardam, K. (2023) · Indian Journal of Social Psychiatry · doi:10.4103/ijsp.ijsp_192_22
Fu, H. (2024) · Lecture notes in computer science · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-57867-0_9
Epstein, R., Mei, K. X., Newland, A., Rivera, L., Singhi, S., & Wang, N. (2024) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.4974864
Çimen, Y. A. (2025) · KTO Karatay Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Dergisi · doi:10.59244/ktokusbd.1622151
Freytag, A., Baumann, E., Angermeyer, M., & Schomerus, G. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26560454
Freytag, A., Baumann, E., Angermeyer, M., & Schomerus, G. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26560451
Monzani, D., Vergani, L., Marton, G., Pizzoli, S. F. M., & Pravettoni, G. (2021) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.16841085
Welton‐Mitchell, C., Dally, M. J., Dickinson, K. L., Morris-Neuberger, L., Roberts, J. D., & Blanch‐Hartigan, D. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26603392
Patient and artificial intelligence: shifts in trust and questions of expertise
Ilivitskaya, L. G., & Kuzovenkova, Y. A. (2026) · Healthcare · doi:10.65249/1027-7218-2026-5-49-58
Olmo, C. P. D., & Coyle, D. (2026) · JMIR Formative Research · doi:10.2196/101385
Versorgung und Versorgungssystem
Dgbs, & Dgppn (2013) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-642-37774-7_7
Metadata
- Authors
- Powell, J., & Clarke, A.
- Affiliations
- University of Warwick (GB)
- Queen Mary University of London (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Powell, John
- Venue
- British Journal of Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Royal College of Psychiatrists
- Published
- 2006-09
- Volume
- 189
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 273-277
- ISSN
- 0007-1250 (ISSN-L)
- 1472-1465
- OpenAlex
- W2074880451
- Cited by
- 253
- References
- 24
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 28 · 2012: 17
- FWCI
- 15.48
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- The British Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Health Services Research and Development
- Health Services Research Programme
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Literacy and Information Accessibility
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Information Retrieval and Search Behavior
- Keywords
- internet use, mental health information seeking, online health information, trust in information, psychological distress, psychiatric history, prevalence, General Health Questionnaire
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aged, Educational Status, Female, Health Surveys, Humans, Male, Mental Health, Middle Aged, Patient Acceptance of Health Care, Internet
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review