Over One Million Adult Women in California Report Serious Psychological Distress During the Past Year

More than 1 million California women 18 years or older (7.6 percent) reported experiencing symptoms associated with serious psychological distress in 2009, according this policy brief from the Public Health Institute (PHI) co-authored by Center Faculty Associate Roberta Wyn. The brief uses data from the 2009 California Health Interview Survey to find that women with serious psychological distress are more likely to have been the victim of intimate partner violence and to have had suicidal thoughts compared to women without distress. The authors also found that almost one-third of those with serious psychological distress who said they needed treatment did not receive it. A lack of a usual source of care and stable insurance coverage were barriers to obtaining needed mental health services.

• Elaine Zahnd, PhD
• Roberta Wyn, Ph.D.