Navigating limbo: help-seeking for mental health problems among loved ones of missing persons

ABSTRACT

Objective

When a person is missing, those left behind are at increased risk of experiencing mental health difficulties. However, little is known about mental health help-seeking among this population. The current study explored relationships between sociodemographic variables, loss characteristics, psychological symptoms, psychological disorder ”caseness”, and help-seeking behaviour among people with a missing loved one.

Method

One hundred and ten people with a missing loved one completed a questionnaire assessing help-seeking and symptoms of psychological distress, prolonged grief and posttraumatic stress. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square tests and binary regression analyses were used for data analysis.

Results

Results showed that the majority of participants had not sought help for their mental health, despite high rates of mental health problems. Current help-seeking was significantly associated with caseness of a non-specific mental health disorder but not with prolonged grief or probable posttraumatic stress. Overall, consulting a psychologist or counsellor was the most frequently sought source of help, followed by peers with shared experience.

Conclusions

This study highlights help-seeking among people with a missing loved one and suggests further research is needed to support this vulnerable group to access needed mental health help. Implications of findings for service delivery are discussed.

KEY POINTS

What is already known about this topic:

1. People with a missing loved one are at increased vulnerability to mental health difficulties.

2. Help-seeking is an adaptive style of coping and may be sought from informal or formal sources.

3. To date, little is known about help-seeking behaviours among people with a missing love one.

What this topic adds:

1. Current help-seeking among people with a missing loved one was significantly associated with caseness of a non-specific mental health disorder but not prolonged grief disorder or probable posttraumatic stress disorder.

2. Consulting a psychologist or counsellor was the most frequently sought source of help-seeking, followed by peers with shared experience.

3. Despite high rates of mental health problems among this population, the majority of participants had not sought help for their mental health.

KEYWORDS:

• Grief
• help-seeking
• loss
• mental health
• missing persons
• trauma

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contributions

All authors contributed to the development of the study concept and design. Data collection and analysis were performed by C. K. The manuscript was drafted by C. K. and reviewed by F. P. D. and A. Y. C. C. All authors approved the final version of the paper for submission.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship.