Table 2.
Sources of preferred help and association with current psychological distress.
| Not distressed | Mild-to moderate distress | Moderate-to-severe distress | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type of helpa | Total, n = 1357 (%) | GHQ score, 0–2, n = 725 (53.4%) | GHQ score, 3–6, n = 343 (25.3%) | ORb (95% CI) | GHQ score ≥7, n = 289 (21.3%) | ORb (95% CI) |
| Professional source helpa, these included: | ||||||
| Advice from GP or nurse | 457 (33.7) | 240 (33.1) | 114 (33.2) | 1.02 (0.86 to 1.21) | 103 (35.6) | 1.20 (0.87 to 1.66) |
| Talking therapy | 388 (28.6) | 156 (21.5) | 91 (26.5) | 1.34 (1.04 to 1.71) | 141 (48.8) | 3.43 (2.85 to 4.14) |
| Tablets from your doctor | 146 (10.8) | 57 (7.9) | 32 (9.3) | 1.22 (0.95 to 1.57) | 57 (19.7) | 3.07 (2.00 to 4.71) |
| Alternative source helpa, these included: | ||||||
| Talk to family or friend | 795 (58.6) | 484 (66.8) | 193 (56.3) | 0.61 (0.52 to 0.70) | 118 (40.8) | 0.33 (0.25 to 0.45) |
| Relaxation exercises or yoga | 390 (28.7) | 201 (27.7) | 106 (30.9) | 1.08 (0.88 to 1.33) | 83 (28.7) | 0.93 (0.67 to 1.29) |
| Exercise, sport, or hobby | 371 (27.3) | 195 (26.9) | 100 (29.2) | 1.09 (0.81 to 1.46) | 76 (26.3) | 0.85 (0.61 to 1.19) |
| Massage or aromatherapy | 299 (22.0) | 113 (15.6) | 103 (30.0) | 2.25 (1.84 to 2.75) | 83 (28.7) | 1.80 (1.49 to 2.17) |
| Religious or spiritual support | 150 (11.1) | 75 (10.3) | 43 (12.5) | 1.22 (0.85 to 1.76) | 32 (11.1) | 1.04 (0.70 to 1.55) |
| Herbal/homeopathic medicine | 140 (10.3) | 68 (9.4) | 34 (9.9) | 0.96 (0.61 to 1.52) | 38 (13.2) | 1.30 (1.12 to 1.50) |
| Self-help — leaflet or book | 102 (7.5) | 60 (8.3) | 16 (4.7) | 0.50 (0.35 to 0.70) | 26 (9.0) | 1.09 (0.72 to 1.64) |
| Self-help — internet/computer | 70 (5.2) | 35 (4.8) | 19 (5.5) | 1.21 (0.68 to 2.18) | 16 (5.5) | 1.20 (0.76 to 1.93) |
| Support group | 52 (3.8) | 22 (3.0) | 6 (1.8) | 0.59 (0.15 to 2.27) | 24 (8.3) | 3.07 (1.72 to 5.47) |
| No source help identified | 82 (6.0) | 50 (6.9) | 24 (7.0) | 1.06 (0.54 to 2.09) | 8 (2.7) | 0.44 (0.23 to 0.84) |
a
Multiple responses allowed.
b
Odds ratio (OR) for help-seeking compared with ‘Not distressed’ group, adjusted for age group and sex and for clustering by GP practice, from adjusted Wald test for overall significance of factor in the model. GHQ = General Health Questionnaire.