Receiving support for mental health problems from family and friends: Measurement and impact on mental health, relationships, and help-seeking

Summary & key facts

Researchers created a short survey that people who were helped could use to report what their friend or family member did. They tested it with 1,116 adults who had a recent mental health problem and were helped by someone close. The survey grouped actions into two types (recommended and not recommended) and showed that getting more recommended help was linked to people saying their mental health was better (r = 0.37), their relationship with the helper was closer (r = 0.39), and they were more likely to seek help from a doctor (r = 0.45), a mental health professional (r = 0.49), or a phone/digital service (r = 0.38). The study provides initial evidence that higher-quality first help from fri

Key facts:

• The study tested the measure with 1,116 adults recruited via Prolific who had a recent mental health problem and were helped by someone close to them.
• The recipient version of the Mental Health Support Scale divided actions into two factors: recommended actions and not-recommended actions, according to confirmatory factor analysis.
• The scale showed acceptable psychometric properties when tested (the study reports it as psychometrically acceptable).
• Higher scores on recommended support were associated with better self-reported mental health, with a correlation of r = 0.37.
• Higher recommended-support scores were associated with a closer relationship with the helper, with a correlation of r = 0.39.
• Receiving more recommended support was associated with increased help-seeking: correlation with seeing a doctor was r = 0.45.
• The association with seeing a mental health professional was r = 0.49, and with using a phone or digital mental health service was r = 0.38.
• The paper notes that mental health–related discrimination from friends, family, and partners is common, often taking the form of avoidance or dismissive reactions.
• All measures of support and impact were self-reported by the person who received help, so the findings describe perceived effects and are correlational rather than proving cause and effect.

Abstract

Mental health-related discrimination by friends, family members and intimate partners is especially common, particularly in the form of avoidance and dismissive reactions. In contrast, good quality initial support (mental health first aid) is thought to improve help-seeking and mental health outcomes, although there are few studies that have examined this. This study aimed to develop a measure of mental health support skills that could be self-reported by the recipient of help, and to use this measure to test whether better quality support was related to better outcomes. We recruited 1116 adults from Prolific who reported a recent mental health problem or crisis and were helped by someone close to them such as a family member or friend. Participants completed a recipient version of the Mental Health Support Scale, which asked about actions the other person took to support them, based on mental health first aid guidelines. They also completed measures assessing convergent and divergent validity and perceived impact of the support from their helper. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a scale with two factors of recommended and not recommended actions with acceptable psychometric properties. Receiving recommended mental health first aid support was associated with perceived benefits by the recipient of help, including improved mental health (r = .37), a closer relationship with their helper (r = .39), and impact on help seeking from a doctor (r = .45), mental health professional (r = .49) or a phone or digital mental health service (r = .38). These findings provide empirical evidence for the potential benefits of upskilling community members in effective mental health first aid support.

Topics

Digital Mental Health Interventions Family Caregiving in Mental Illness Mental Health Treatment and Access

Categories

Psychology Social Psychology Social Sciences

Tags

Association (psychology) Clinical psychology Confirmatory factor analysis Convergent validity Empirical research Family support Help-seeking Medicine MEDLINE Mental health Mental health law Mental health service Mental illness Psychiatry Psychological intervention Psychology Quality (philosophy) Quality of life (healthcare) Scale (ratio) Social support Test (biology)