Mental Health Help Seeking Among Traumatized Individuals: A Systematic Review of Studies Assessing the Role of Substance Use and Abuse

摘要

Objective: Prior research has suggested that competing neurobehavioral decision-making processes might affect health outcomes among traumatized populations. Regulatory imbalances to impulsive and executive decision systems are affected by high levels of stress, including stress resulting from traumatic events. Such regulatory imbalances have been associated with addictive behaviors. However, it is not well known whether addictive behavior increases or decreases the likelihood of utilization of behavioral health services among traumatized populations. The aim of this study is to systematically review mental health utilization studies targeting traumatized populations to determine the direction of association between substance use and behavioral health utilization.