Exploring the Influence of Parent and Non-Parent Relationships on the Mental Health Counseling Utilization of Young Adults with Depressive Symptoms

Background: Young adults are among those least likely to seek formal mental health counseling. This is influenced by a variety of complex, dynamic factors, some of which are related to belief that one can handle the problem without counseling or negative attitude toward receiving professional help. While previous studies suggest that young adults with supportive social networks are more likely to receive formal mental health counseling, little attention has been paid to differentiating relationships within the social network. During young adulthood dramatic changes in parent-child relationships often occur. For this reason, we hypothesized that the influence of parent and non-parent relationships on young adults’ decisions to receive formal mental health counseling will be different. Thus, the current study explores the influence of parent and non-parent relationships on the use of mental health counseling by young adults with depressive symptoms.

Methods: The current study uses Wave III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), which followed the original adolescent participants as they entered young adulthood. Our sample consists of 2,312 respondents, ages 18 to 27 at Wave III (M=21.73, SD=1.80), who have depressive symptoms according to the CES-D. Mental health counseling is measured by the receipt of psychological or emotional counseling within the past 12 months (0=no, 1=yes). Parent and non-parent relationship is assessed by strength of network tie using three Likert scales rating (a) closeness to parents, (b) closeness to non-parents (i.e., adults who reportedly made an important positive difference in the respondent’s life), and (c) frequency of in-person contact with non-parents. Hierarchical logistic regression is applied to examine the unique influence of parent and non-parent relationship above and beyond socio-demographic and symptom severity factors (severity of depressive symptoms, insurance, employment, age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, and marital status).

Results: Both parent and non-parent relationship are associated with the receipt of mental health counseling but the pattern is different. Closeness to parents is negatively associated with the odds of receiving mental health counseling (OR=.894, p=.029) while closeness to non-parents is positively associated with mental health counseling (OR=1.232, p=.003). Additionally, the frequency of in-person contact with non-parents is negatively associated with the odds of receiving formal mental health counseling (OR=.884, p=.006).

Conclusion/Implications: Findings imply that strong non-parental ties may facilitate young adults’ use of mental health counseling while strong parental ties may not. It is possible that non-parent figures may have a different perspective on the depressive symptoms and thus, may encourage a young adult to seek formal help. Additionally, frequent in-person contact with non-parents decreases the use mental health counseling. Previous studies suggest that young adults prefer consultation with family and friends to professional help. Therefore, it is possible that the perceived necessity of professional counseling is reduced with strong parental ties and frequent in-person contact with non-parental figures. Future research is required to elucidate the complex dynamics surrounding the influence of social networks on formal and informal counseling use among young adults with depressive symptoms.