When, where, and for what do parents seek help for child mental health concerns

Objective: Although parental help-seeking processes are thought to play a role in explaining the treatment gap in child mental health care, no empirical research has reported mothers’ and fathers’ help-seeking behaviors for child mental health separately. This study examined mothers’ and fathers’ informal and professional help-seeking to further understand their preferences. Method: A total of N = 394 mothers and fathers reported on a target child between the ages of 3 and 7. Parents completed questionnaires assessing the types of help sought for child mental health concerns, as well as measures representing illness profile, predisposing characteristics, and barriers/facilitators proposed to influence parental help-seeking. Results: Parents most often sought informal help from family/friends and teachers rather than professional help for child mental health concerns. Regression modelling of parental help-seeking for externalizing concerns indicated potential differences between mothers and fathers. Mothers’ help-seeking was significantly associated with illness profile (marital quality, child mental health, parental education), predisposing factors (parental attributions, child age), and family income, while fathers’ help-seeking was significantly associated with child demographics (age, gender). Conclusions: The findings support expanding treatments into nonclinical settings. Improving child mental health literacy in the community is also supported as a way of influencing parents’ assessment and attributions of child problems that facilitates appropriate help-seeking for child mental health concerns.