Past-Year Use of Outpatient Services for Psychiatric Problems in the National Comorbidity Survey

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Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The authors present nationally representative descriptive data on 12-month use of outpatient services for psychiatric problems. They focused on the relationship between DSM-III-R disorders and service use in four broadly defined service sectors as well as the distribution of service use in multiple service sectors. METHOD: Data from the National Comorbidity Survey were examined. RESULTS: Summary measures of the seriousness and complexity of illness were significantly related to probability of use, number of sectors used, mean number of visits, and specialty treatment. One-fourth of the people in outpatient treatment were seen in multiple service sectors, but no evidence was found of multisector offset in number of visits. CONCLUSIONS: Use of outpatient services for psychiatric problems appears to have increased over the decade between the early 1980s and early 1990s, especially in the self-help sector. Aggregate allocation of treatment resources was related to need, highlighting the importance ...