Conflict with fathers deters youth from seeking mental health services

Youth are less likely to seek mental health services if they have a tumultuous relationship with their father, although the exact nature of this link is still unclear.

The more conflict teens experience with their father, the less likely they will later use specialized mental health services."

Mina Moeineslam, PhD candidate, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) Department of Psychology

She is the lead author of a new article in European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. The researchers for the article hope the findings will draw more attention to the role of fathers when adolescents need help.

"When adolescents struggle with mental health issues, they often turn to their parents or friends first for emotional support. A good relationship with the people around them may therefore play a critical role in encouraging youth to seek professional care," says Moeineslam.

Closeness to mother, father and best friend

The data for the article was drawn from Norway's long-term Trondheim Early Secure Study (TESS). The researchers followed 822 adolescents aged 12 to 18 across four surveys. The factors they examined included:

• How close the adolescents felt to their mother
• How close the adolescents felt to their father
• How close the adolescents felt to their best friend
• The amount of conflict they experienced in these relationships

The researchers found no association between youths' use of mental health services and the relationship with their mother or best friend. Youths' closeness to their father did not appear to matter either, but the level of conflict with the father stood out.

The researchers have discussed some possible reasons for this finding.

"Our study suggests that need-related factors and clinical criteria are more important in determining admission to specialist services than relational factors are," says Silje Steinsbekk, a professor in NTNU's Department of Psychology.

This does not mean that adolescents' relationships with parents and friends are unimportant. They can still play a significant role earlier in the help-seeking process, such as when youth share their problems or seek emotional support.

"Support from family and friends can also sometimes reduce the need for professional help," says Steinsbekk.

Several factors investigated

The researchers also considered a number of other factors that could influence whether adolescents seek out mental health services.

These factors include the prior use of health services, gender, parental employment and relationship status, parents' mental health, the adolescents' own emotional health symptoms, functional impairments, perceived need for help, and stressful life events.

"The association between a father-teen conflict and less use of specialized services persists even when we account for other risk factors. However, the study does not determine whether the relationship with the father is the cause of the difference in service use," says Associate Professor Vera Skalicka.

Unclear how conflict with father plays a role

There may be several possible explanations for the difference in service use. Father-adolescent conflict, for example, may make it more difficult for the youth to disclose mental health problems or receive support in seeking help.

The conflicts may also influence how parents perceive the adolescent's need for professional help.

"We need more research to understand the connections," emphasizes Professor Lars Wichstrøm, head of the Trondheim Early Secure Study (TESS).