Short-Term Changes in Internalizing Symptoms and Help-Seeking Attitudes During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: Existing data suggest that American adults experience added emotional difficulties amid the coronavirus disease outbreak. Psychotherapy can help mitigate mental health concerns; still, many individuals with unmet mental health needs refrain from professional help-seeking. According to theory of reasoned action, negative help-seeking attitudes are key barriers to engagement with mental health services. Given that individuals with severe distress are more likely to seek therapy than individuals with mild psychopathology symptoms, greater initial and increasing levels of internalizing symptoms amid the coronavirus outbreak likely are linked to increasingly favorable attitudes toward professional help-seeking. Method: In the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, American community adults, N = 831 [49.0% Asian Americans], Mage = 46.78, 50.2% women, were recruited for a panel survey study conducted over the course of three weeks. At each time point, participants completed questionnaires to assess their internalizing symptoms associated with depression and anxiety as well as their openness to and perceived value/need in treatment seeking. Results: Very few participants—especially Asian Americans —were seeking counseling during the study period. Latent growth curve results showed a general decline in internalizing symptoms, and no changes in openness to and perceived need in professional help-seeking. Whereas there were no time-varying correlations between internalizing symptoms and help-seeking attitudes, individuals with greater baseline internalizing symptoms generally were more open to seeking professional help and perceived less value in mental health services. Sensitivity analyses showed patterns in the Asian American subsample similar to those in the overall sample. Discussion: Implications for research and clinical practice are discussed.