Nearly 5 million California adults say they need help for a mental or emotional health problem, and more than 1 million Californians report symptoms associated with serious psychological distress, according to a study released yesterday by researchers at UCLA.
Yet of those people, only one in three reported visiting a mental health professional for treatment, revealing potential barriers due to lack of insurance or stigma. The findings are based on data from the 2005 California Health Interview Survey of about 43,000 adults, administered by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
Overall, men, adults age 65 or older, and Latino and Asian immigrants reported the lowest rates of visiting a mental health professional. The study found the following treatment rates:
- Men: 6.5 percent
- Women: 10.1 percent
- Adults age 65 or older: 3.8 percent
- Younger adults: 7.5 to 9.6 percent
- White adults: 11 percent
- African-Americans: 10 percent
- Latino and Asian immigrants: 3 percent
- U.S.-born Latinos: 8 percent
- U.S.-born Asians: 7 percent
But when it comes to rates of serious psychological distress and perceived need for help, the study reports that the biggest factor is income.
Adults living below the federal poverty level were more than five times as likely to report symptoms of serious psychological distress than those whose incomes were at least three times higher than the poverty level. Similarly, 26 percent of adults below the poverty level said they needed help, compared to 16 percent of adults with incomes at least three times higher.
UCLA Center for Health Policy Research
The perceived need for mental health care is likely greater now than the study shows, said Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola, co-author of the study and director of the UC Davis Center for Reducing Health Disparities.
"I think that the issues that we are observing right now … might be more pronounced given the economic downturn," he said. "People are under much more stress."
The center estimates nearly 2 million Californians lost their health insurance in 2008 and 2009. The study found that people with health insurance were almost twice as likely to have received treatment than those without, which could mean fewer Californians are currently using mental health services, Aguilar-Gaxiola said.
Studies have attributed mental illnesses to about 25 percent of disability and say they are a leading cause of premature death in the United States. Untreated, mental illnesses have been associated with suicide, substance abuse, medical conditions and problems with work, school and family, researchers said.
And state budget cuts could mean fewer resources for those in need, Aguilar-Gaxiola said.
"Mental health needs tend to be much more neglected in comparison to health needs in general," he said.
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