Ruth McNair|Rachel Bush
Mental health help seeking patterns and associations among Australian same sex attracted women, trans and gender diverse people: a survey-based study
University of Melbourne|Deakin University
sex attracted women ssaw disproportionately affected depression anxiety due experiences sexuality gender based discrimination access mental health services higher rates heterosexual women however lower levels satisfaction study examined range professional social help seeking samesex attracted women patterns according sexual orientation gender identity subgroup eight key stakeholders interviewed convenience sample 1628 australian ssaw completed online survey 2015 included several scales measure mental health community connectedness resilience measured past 12 month help seeking behaviour enablers barriers preferences mental health care chisquare analyses binary logistic regression analyses examined demographic associations mental health correlations help seeking mental physical health connectedness run high proportion 80 total sample perceived mental health problems past 12 months half depression 96 anxiety trans gender diverse participants twice likely female participants mental health problems lesbians least likely high levels past 12 month help seeking included 744 seeing gp 443 seeing psychologistcounsellor 747 seeking familyfriends support 552 using internet based support professional help prioritised higher mental health need trans participants likely sought professional help participated support groups least likely sought help friends family common barriers help seeking discrimination lack lgbti sensitivity services particularly gender diverse queer pansexual participants enablers included mainstream community connectedness trustworthy gp encouragement friends mental health services need lgbti inclusive understand emerging diverse sexual gender identities peer support important adjunct professional support however may fully meeting needs identity subgroups mental health promotion tailored diverse subgroups build mental health literacy resilience face ongoing discrimination