ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Mental Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1612066
Self-reported help-seeking behavior in the event of mental disorders among adults in Poland
Provisionally accepted
Aleksandra Lewandowska1
Mateusz Jankowski2
Mariusz Gujski3*
Paulina Mularczyk-Tomczewska3Agata Szulc4Andrzej Silczuk5- 1Children Psychiatry Unit Specialized Psychiatric Health Care Centre in Lodz, Lodz, Poland
- 2School of Public Health, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, Warsaw, Poland
- 3Department of Public Health, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Masovian, Poland
- 4Psychiatric Clinic, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
- 5Department of Environmental Psychiatry, Faculty of Life Sciences, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
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The decision to use psychological or psychiatric help is complex and depends on many interrelated factors. This study aimed to characterize self-reported help-seeking behavior in the event of mental disorders among adults in Poland. Methods: This questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey was carried out in March 2025 using computer-assisted web interviews (CAWI) among 1114 adults in Poland. Quota-sampling method was used. Results: Most of the respondents (54.8%) declared that they would be able to recognize symptoms related to mental disorders on their own, and 50.7% declared that they would be able to recognize symptoms related to mental disorders in others and recognize people who require the help of a psychiatrist or psychologist. Over two-thirds of respondents (67.1%) declared that they know where to seek help if they experience mental disorders on their own and 61.4% declared that they know where to seek help if a child or teenager is experiencing mental disorders. Only 17.2% of respondents declared that enough activities are carried out in Poland to promote mental health and prevent mental disorders. In multivariable logistic regression, female gender, ever visit to a specialist due to mental disorders and a history of mental disorders in the close family were the most important factors associated (p<0.05) with self-reported help-seeking behavior in the event of mental disorders. Conclusions: This study revealed significant gaps in self-reported help-seeking behavior in the event of mental disorders among adults in Poland. Public health interventions are needed to strengthen mental health literacy among adults in Poland, particularly concerning help-seeking behavior.
Keywords: Mental Health, Mental Disorders, Psychiatry, Health Services, Mental health literacy
Received: 17 Apr 2025; Accepted: 28 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Lewandowska, Jankowski, Gujski, Mularczyk-Tomczewska, Szulc and Silczuk. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Mariusz Gujski, Department of Public Health, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Masovian, Poland
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