Abstract
Objective Despite the availability of mental health care, only a minority of depressed adolescents and young adults receive treatment. This study aimed to investigate facilitating factors and barriers in help-seeking behaviour of adolescents and young adults with depressive symptoms, using qualitative research methods. Methods In-depth, semi-structured interviews with 32 participants with current or previous depressive symptoms aged 16 to 24 years using thematic content analysis. Findings Our sample consisted mainly of adolescents who eventually found their way to professional help. Five main themes in help-seeking by adolescents and young adults were identified: (I) Individual functioning and well-being, (II) Health literacy, (III) Attitudinal aspects, (IV) Surroundings, and (V) Accessibility. Prompts to seek treatment were disease burden and poor academic performance. Health illiteracy negatively influenced treatment-seeking behaviour. Attitudinal aspects either hampered (shame, wanting to handle the problem oneself, negative attitudes towards treatment) or facilitated (positive attitudes towards treatment) helpseeking. Furthermore, adolescents’ surroundings (school, family, and peers) appeared to play a critical role in the recognition of depressive symptoms and encouragement to seek help. Barriers regarding accessibility of mental health care were found, whereas direct and easy access to treatment greatly improved mental health care use. OPEN ACCESS Citation: Eigenhuis E, Waumans RC, Muntingh ADT, Westerman MJ, van Meijel M, Batelaan NM, et al. (2021) Facilitating factors and barriers in help-seeking behaviour in adolescents and young adults with depressive symptoms: A qualitative study. PLoS ONE 16(3): e0247516. 10.1371/journal.pone.0247516 Editor: Therese van Amelsvoort, Maastricht University, NETHERLANDS Received: September 18, 2020 Accepted: February 8, 2021 Published: March 8, 2021 Peer Review History: PLOS recognizes the benefits of transparency in the peer review process; therefore, we enable the publication of all of the content of peer review and author responses alongside final, published articles. The editorial history of this article is available here: Copyright: © 2021 Eigenhuis et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Data Availability Statement: Data cannot be shared publicly because according to European law (AVG) data containing potentially identifying or PLOS ONE | March 8, 2021 1 / 20 PLOS ONE Facilitating factors and barriers in help-seeking behaviour in adolescents with depressive symptoms Conclusion Facilitating factors can play a critical role in the