Most mental health issues develop during adolescence, therefore identifying youth mental health needs and pathways to care is critical to improve prevention. To date, studies have typically focused on Western samples, while the impact of cultural diversity on perception of health and illness, and pathways to care, remain poorly understood. To address the shortage of studies conducted in the Arab world, and particularly in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the present investigation aims to identify the characteristics of youth accessing mental health services in Dubai. Data was collected retrospectively from patients’ records at Rashid Hospital Child Psychiatry Service. Information collected included demographics, life stressors, symptoms duration, main diagnosis, and presence/absence of psychotic features in patients’ symptomatology. The relationship between demographic and clinical variables was explored using Chi-square tests and negative binomial regression models. The sample included 99 treatment-seeking young patients (mean age 15.3; SD = 1.7); 47.5 % were Emirati (UAE national) and 52.5 % were non-Emirati patients. In our treatment-seeking youth sample Depressive disorders represented the most frequent diagnosis, followed by Bipolar and related disorders, Anxiety and stress related disorders, and Schizophrenia and psychotic disorders. Compared to Emirati patients, non-Emirati patients were more likely to report relationships with friends as a source of stress. Female help-seekers, compared to males, were more likely to report stressful relationships with family members, and to receive a diagnosis of Depressive disorders. The duration of symptoms before seeking help was significantly predicted by family stress, gender, self-harm behavior, a symptomatology with psychotic features, and a diagnosis of Anxiety disorders. The present study contributes to characterizing youth accessing mental health services at Rashid Hospital’s Child Psychiatry service in Dubai. An overall prevalence of poor family functioning among help-seeking youth, and the importance of peer support for expatriate youth were highlighted. Gender differences in perceived stressors, diagnoses and help-seeking behavior suggest the need to promote help-seeking among young boys. While presentation with psychotic features seems to lead to quicker access to medical care, self-harm and anxiety appear to delay help-seeking. The potential implications of our results for promoting youth wellbeing in the region are discussed.

中文翻译：

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表征在阿联酋获得心理健康服务的个人的特征：关注居住在迪拜的青年

大多数心理健康问题是在青春期发展的，因此，确定青年人的心理健康需求和护理途径对于改善预防至关重要。迄今为止，研究通常集中在西方样本上，而文化多样性对健康和疾病感知以及护理途径的影响仍然知之甚少。为了解决在阿拉伯世界，特别是在阿拉伯联合酋长国（阿联酋）进行的研究不足的问题，本次调查旨在确定在迪拜获得心理健康服务的青年人的特征。数据是从拉希德医院儿童精神病学服务处的患者记录中回顾性收集的。收集的信息包括人口统计学，生活压力，症状持续时间，主要诊断以及患者症状学中是否存在精神病特征。使用卡方检验和负二项式回归模型探讨了人口统计学和临床​​变量之间的关系。该样本包括99名寻求治疗的年轻患者（平均年龄15.3； SD = 1.7）；阿联酋国民（阿联酋国民）占47.5％，非阿联酋患者占52.5％。在我们寻求治疗的青年样本中，抑郁症是最常见的诊断，其次是躁郁症和相关疾病，焦虑和压力相关疾病，精神分裂症和精神病。与阿联酋患者相比，非阿联酋患者更有可能将与朋友的关系作为压力源。与男性相比，女性寻求帮助者更有可能报告与家庭成员的紧张关系，并得到抑郁症的诊断。家庭压力，性别，自残行为，具有精神病特征的症状和焦虑症的诊断可显着预测寻求帮助之前症状的持续时间。本研究有助于表征在拉希德医院迪拜儿童精神病学服务机构中获得心理保健服务的青年的特征。强调了寻求帮助的青年人中普遍存在家庭运作不佳的普遍现象，并强调了同伴对外派青年人的支持的重要性。感觉到的压力源，诊断和寻求帮助行为方面的性别差异表明，有必要在年轻男孩中促进寻求帮助。虽然表现出精神病特征似乎可以更快地获得医疗服务，但自残和焦虑似乎拖延了寻求帮助的时间。