Attitudinal and Perceptual Barriers to Accessing Mental Health Services Among Members of the U.S. Air Force

摘要

A random sample of 1,000 members of the U.S. Air Force (USAF) was surveyed concerning attitudinal and perceptual barriers to accessing mental health services in the military. Three hundred ninety-one people returned the survey. They reported their perception that seeking mental health services in the military system has a negative impact on careers and is highly stigmatizing. The sample also indicated that the military mental health system offers no more confidentiality than conversations with friends and that military mental health professionals are no more qualified to help with personal problems than friends or physicians and, in fact, are less qualified than chaplains. The greatest barriers to accessing mental health services were the embarrassment associated with help seeking and cultural bias against help seeking. The Attitude Towards Seeking Professional Psychological Help (ATSPPH) scale, which is a part of the survey, indicated that USAF members have more negative views of help seeking than their civilian counterparts. An analysis of 121 survey comments confirmed these results. Suggestions to change the perception of the military mental health system, as well as the system itself, are discussed.