Exploring the relationship between psychological distress and likelihood of help seeking in construction workers: The role of talking to workmates and knowing how to get help¹

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Chapman, Janine^{a; *} | Roche, Ann M.^a | Duraisingam, Vinita^a | Phillips, Brooke^{a; b} | Finnane, Jim^b | Pidd, Ken^a

Affiliations: [a] National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction (NCETA), Flinders University, SA, Australia | [b] Building Trades Group Drug and Alcohol Program, Rozelle, NSW, Australia

Correspondence: [*] Address for correspondence: Janine Chapman, National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction (NCETA), Flinders University, Mark Oliphant Building, Bedford Park, 5042, South Australia. Tel.: +1 (08) 7221 8472, E-mail: [email protected].

Note: [1] This article received a correction notice (Erratum) with the reference: 10.3233/WOR-223642, available at https://content.iospress.com/articles/work/wor223642.

Abstract: BACKGROUND:Mental health problems are prevalent in male-dominated industries such as construction, where suicide rates are higher than the population average and help seeking is typically low. OBJECTIVE:To examine psychological distress in Australian construction workers and its relationship with help seeking via two hypothesised mediators: confidence in knowing how to get help and confidence in talking to workmates about mental health issues. METHODS:Workers (N = 511) completed a survey that assessed psychological distress, likelihood of help seeking, and confidence in knowing how to get help and talking to workmates. Bootstrapped multiple mediation analysis was performed using the PROCESS macro for SPSS. RESULTS:Psychological distress was higher than national estimates and most prevalent in men aged 25–44. Controlling for age and ability to recognise personal signs of mental health problems, psychological distress negatively predicted likelihood of help seeking. This relationship was partially mediated by knowing how to get help and confidence in talking to workmates. CONCLUSIONS:Results highlight the need to redress and mitigate mental health problems among high-risk groups of male workers. It provides useful guidance on multilevel workplace strategies to reduce stigma, enhance confidence and comfort in the process of seeking help and support in construction and other male-dominated industries.

Keywords: Mental health, psychological distress, construction industry, occupational health, men, workplace

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-203251

Journal: Work, vol. 67, no. 1, pp. 47-54, 2020