Socio-demographic factors and use of health services for psychological reasons in young adults]

Background. - Although young adults exhibit a high rate of psychiatric disorders, their rate of access to mental health care is low compared with older age groups. Our study examined the relationship between socio-demographic factors and the use of health care services for psychological reasons. Methods. - We studied a community sample of 1103 French 22 to 35-year-old (TEMPO cohort study) who were surveyed by mailed questionnaire in 2009. Data were collected regarding participants' health (internalizing and externalizing psychological symptoms in 1991 and 2009), health care use (access to health professionals and psychotropic medications in case of psychological difficulties), and socio-demographic factors (sex, age, employment status, marital situation, social support). Parental history of depression was ascertained based on TEMPO participants' and their parents' reports (in the GAZEL cohort study). Results. - In the 12 months preceding the study, 16.7% of study participants saw a health professional and 12.8% took a psychotropic medication for psychological reasons. In multivariate regression, models adjusted for all socio-demographic and psychological characteristics, access to health professionals was associated with being unemployed/out of the labor force (OR = 1.93; 95% CI = 1.11-3.30), family situation (OR in participants living with a partner with no children: 2.16; 95% CI 1.26-3.72; OR in participants not living with a partner: 2.29; 95% CI = 1.34-3.90), and having low social support (OR = 1.75; 95% CI = 1.21-2.54). The use of psychotropic medications was associated with female gender (OR = 2.70; 95% CI = 1.60-4.55), being unemployed/out of the labor force (OR = 3.85; 95% CI = 2.14-6.95), not living with a partner (OR = 2.04; 95% CI = 1.09-3.80) and having low social support (OR = 1.65; 95% CI = 1.05-2.59). Additionally, use of health services was associated with participants' and their parents' psychological difficulties. (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.