Logging into therapy: Parent attitudes and intentions to use computer-based therapies for youth mental health

摘要

Objectives: The first aim of this study was to describe parental attitudes towards and intentions to access,computer-based therapies for youth mental health problems. The second aim was to assess parental factors(demographic and clinical factors, personality, technology factors, mental health knowledge and attitudes, andknowledge of computer-based therapies) predicting attitudes and intentions to access computer-based therapiesfor youth.Method: Three hundred and seventy-three Australian parents completed an online survey measuring:demographics; mental health service experience; personality; technology factors; mental health knowledgeand attitudes; perceived benefits, problems, and helpfulness of computer-based therapies; and intentions toaccess services.Results: Approximately 50% of parents reported accessing support for their child's mental health, yet only 6% hadused a computer-based therapy. The majority of parents strongly endorsed all benefits of computer-basedtherapies, and appeared relatively less concerned by potential service problems. Computer-based therapieswere perceived as somewhat to extremely helpful by 87% of parents and 94% indicated that they would utilise acomputer-based therapy if their child required support and one was offered to them. Parental knowledge ofcomputer-based therapies significantly predicted perceived helpfulness (ΔF = 19.23 (1301), p = b.001) andintentions to access (ΔF = 10.91 (1288), p = .001) computer-based therapies, above that of parent demographiccharacteristics, clinical factors, and engagement with technology.Conclusions: Australian parents hold positive attitudes to the use of computer-based therapies