Facilitating factors and barriers in help-seeking behaviour in adolescents and young adults with depressive symptoms: A qualitative study
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OBJECTIVE: Despite the availability of mental health care, only a minority of depressed adolescents and young adults receive treatment. This study aimed to investigate facilitating factors and barriers in help-seeking behaviour of adolescents and young adults with depressive symptoms, using qualitative research methods. METHODS: In-depth, semi-structured interviews with 32 participants with current or previous depressive symptoms aged 16 to 24 years using thematic content analysis. FINDINGS: Our sample consisted mainly of adolescents who eventually found their way to professional help. Five main themes in help-seeking by adolescents and young adults were identified: (I) Individual functioning and well-being, (II) Health literacy, (III) Attitudinal aspects, (IV) Surroundings, and (V) Accessibility. Prompts to seek treatment were disease burden and poor academic performance. Health illiteracy negatively influenced treatment-seeking behaviour. Attitudinal aspects either hampered (shame, wanting to handle the problem oneself, negative attitudes towards treatment) or facilitated (positive attitudes towards treatment) help-seeking. Furthermore, adolescents' surroundings (school, family, and peers) appeared to play a critical role in the recognition of depressive symptoms and encouragement to seek help. Barriers regarding accessibility of mental health care were found, whereas direct and easy access to treatment greatly improved mental health care use. CONCLUSION: Facilitating factors can play a critical role in the help-seeking process of depressed adolescents and young adults, and may guide efforts to increase access to mental health care of this vulnerable age group. In particular, recognition and encouragement from school personnel and peers and easy access to care providers positively influenced help-seeking in our sample. Health illiteracy and attitudinal aspects appeared to be important barriers to seeking treatment and public/school campaigns aimed at reducing health illiteracy and stigma might be necessary to improve treatment-seeking and health care utilization in this age group.
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Friends offered opportunities for peer learning, particularly around communicating, modelling, negotiating, or managing mental healthcare, as well as empathy, connection and care.
“Friends offered opportunities for peer learning, particularly around communicating, modelling, negotiating, or managing mental healthcare, as well as empathy, connection and care (Eigenhuis et al. 2021; Loureiro et al. 2013; Lubman et al. 2016; Medlow et al. 2010; Westberg et al. 2020).”
From "You Have the Choice of Whether You're Going to Get Help or Attempt Suicide": Exploring the Process and Impact of Mental Health Help-Seeking with Young People (16–25 Years) (2025) · cites this paper as Eigenhuis et al. 2021
In Findings > Themes (page unavailable), participants describe friends recognising depressive symptoms, encouraging help-seeking, and sometimes informing school staff; one participant also says seeing his girlfriend benefit from therapy influenced his own view of it. These examples support peer influence and some communication about care, but the paper does not establish the broader claim that friends offered peer learning in negotiating or managing mental healthcare, or specifically provided empathy, connection and care. (LLM, conf=0.84)
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- Authors
- Eigenhuis, E., Waumans, R. C., Muntingh, A. D. T., Westerman, M. J., van Meijel, M., Batelaan, N. M., & van Balkom, A. J. L. M.
- Affiliations
- Amsterdam Public Health (NL)
- Corresponding author
- Eigenhuis, Eline
- Venue
- PLOS ONE
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science (PLoS)
- Published
- 2021-03-08
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- e0247516
- ISSN
- 1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7939362
- OpenAlex
- W3134553592
- Cited by
- 90
- References
- 67
- Citations by year
- 2026: 19 · 2025: 29 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 1
- FWCI
- 10.29
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Pure Amsterdam UMC (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- VU Research Portal (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Amsterdam UMC (VU Amsterdam) - Institutional Repository (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- ZonMw (430000003)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychology and Mental Health
- Keywords
- help-seeking, depressive symptoms, adolescents, young adults, access to mental health care, health literacy, stigma, treatment attitudes, family and peer support, school-based support, barriers to treatment, health care utilization
- MeSH terms
- Help-Seeking Behavior, Adolescent Health, Adolescent, Depression, Female, Health Services Accessibility, Humans, Male, Mental Health, Mental Health Services, Patient Acceptance of Health Care, Shame, Qualitative Research, Young Adult, Health Literacy
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