Influence of Temperament and Personality on Help-Seeking and Mental Health Service Use

Understanding what factors facilitate help-seeking and mental health service use is crucial given the economic and personal costs involved. Temperament and personality traits have been shown to influence the likelihood of accessing mental health services but the mechanisms driving this association remain unclear. In the current study, 29 young adults were interviewed regarding their help-seeking behavior and attitudes. Participants were chosen based on temperament and personality (disposition) profile, developed from a latent class analysis (LCA) that demonstrated four groups. Resilient: individuals with high positive affect, agreeableness and conscientiousness, Reserved: high agreeableness and conscientious, moderate inhibition and low negative affect Overcontrolled: high negative affect and inhibition, and low positive affect and Undercontrolled: high negative affect, low agreeableness and conscientiousness and moderate extraversion. Results suggest the disposition styles may influence help-seeking preferences and be associated with how young adults engage with mental health services. Therefore, disposition may be useful for services to take into account when considering how young people seek help for problems and connect with services.