Social comparison of distress and mental health help-seeking in the US general population

The role of social comparison of distress in the mental health help-seeking process remains largely unexplored. The aim of this study was to examine the association of socially compared distress with mental health help-seeking and perceived need for mental health care in a population sample. In 36,679 adult participants of the 2003 US National Survey on Drug Use and Health, data on 12-month help-seeking and perceived unmet need for care were compared between participants who described themselves as more worried, nervous or anxious than others vs. participants who described themselves as no more worried, nervous or anxious than others. Compared to participants who described themselves as no more worried, nervous or anxious, than others, those who described themselves as more worried, nervous or anxious were significantly more likely to seek professional help (adjusted odds ratio = 1.84) or to perceive an unmet need for such help (adjusted odds ratio = 1.44). It is concluded that social comparison of distress is a significant correlate of mental health help-seeking and perceived unmet need for such help. Individual variations in social comparison of distress may partly explain the discrepancy between need—as measured by non-compared distress—and help-seeking in the general population.