Investigating the Effect of Gender differences and Socioeconomic Status on the Willingness to Access Mental Health Services.

Collins, Katie (2019) Investigating the Effect of Gender differences and Socioeconomic Status on the Willingness to Access Mental Health Services. Manchester Metropolitan University. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Research conducted previously assessed the effect of gender and socioeconomic status (SES) on the willingness to access mental health services, however these factors were measured independently. Despite Denton et al. (2004) suggesting that females have an increased association with lower SES and therefore display an increased willingness to access mental health services, there is a gap in research that fails to effectively measure this claim. The current study therefore aims to measure the effect of gender and SES on the willingness to access mental health services. An online survey was distributed to 165 participants, however due to incomplete responses and identified outliers, 39 responses were removed. The final sample consisted of 126 participants, 53 males and 73 females and in terms of SES: 66 working-class, 50 middle-class and 11 upper-class. The data underwent a two-way ANOVA. The findings demonstrated that gender alone effected willingness to access mental health services, with males being more willing than females. Additionally, no difference was found in SES and willingness. Despite this, a significant interaction between gender and SES was found. Further research should be conducted to determine the different aspects of SES and their effect on willingness to access mental health services.