Poor white women with mental woes seek treatment

White, low-income women are more likely to seek outpatient services to treat mental health problems than their African American counterparts, a new study shows.

African Americans may be reluctant to seek mental health help based on barriers in the health care system or fears or stigma associated with receiving treatment, says Richard Tolman, a professor in the School of Social Work.

"If low-income women are going to be successful in their transition from welfare to work, addressing the service needs of those women with mental health disorders will be critical," he says.

Tolman co-authored "Comparing Psychiatric Service Use among Low-Income Women and Women in a General Household Population" with Daniel Rosen, School of Social Work, University of Pittsburgh, and Lynn Warner, School of Social Welfare, State University of New York at Albany.

The findings appeared in the December issue of Social Work Research.

The study explored African American and white welfare recipients' use of mental health services in general medical settings, such as doctor's offices or emergency rooms, and psychotropic medication.

Data collected from 668 women in Tolman's Mothers' Well-being Study (MWS), funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, showed that nearly 41 percent of white respondents with a mood disorder in the past 12 months received help in medical settings, compared to only 13.4 percent among African Americans.

Among women with an anxiety disorder, more than three times as many white respondents as African American respondents received services in medical settings—24 percent versus 8 percent, respectively, the study says.

Nearly one in five whites who had any disorder measured in the past 12 months were taking psychotropic medication, compared with one in 10 African Americans.

While most respondents had a doctor they could see on a regular basis, overall nearly one-third did not seek medical care when they needed it within the past year. This suggests that differences in African American and white mental health services and medication use are not due to differences in access to a primary care physician, but factors within the health care setting.

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