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Problems in adult couple relationships are common and may adversely impact many domains of life, including physical and mental health, work life, and child and family functioning. Although public and private services offer help for couples struggling with relationship problems, these services are of no use if struggling couples do not seek and receives help. Research on inclination toward seeking help for couple-relationship problems is scarce, especially from a comparative perspective. This chapter aims to bridge this research gap. It offers insights into inclination toward seeking help and perceived accessibility of services for couple-relationship problems in Norway and Poland, because they have varying policies, although we do not know if perceptions of accessibility differ. This study answers two interrelated research questions: (1) Are there differences between Norway and Poland in inclined help seeking and perceived accessibility in case of relationship problems? and (2) are there differences between Norway and Poland in how different dimensions of accessibility predict inclined help seeking? The findings from the quantitative survey with 663 Norwegian informants (Mage = 47.27, SD = 10.41, 49.3% men) and 3000 Polish informants and 3000 Polish informants (Mage = 43.92, SD = 11.28, 47.6% men), utilizing various analysis methods, showed that there are differences between the two contexts in inclined help seeking. Norwegian participants were more likely to seek help from public services, if they had relationship problems, than Polish participants. Besides, the results showed that age and the six dimensions of access, that is, awareness, availability, accessibility, and acceptability, all predicted inclined help seeking. Investigating country differences in how the different dimensions of access predicted inclined help seeking in each country, the results showed that the relationship between awareness (finding it useful) and accessibility (physical access satisfactory) of public services and inclined help seeking was stronger in Norway than in Poland.

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Perceived Accessibility of Public Services Predicts Help Seeking for Couple-Relationship Problems

  • 动态工具书词条

  • 发表日期：

    2026年

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  • Ingunn Studsrød,
  • Kjærsti Thorsteinsen,
  • Kathrine Skoland,
  • Brita Gjerstad,
  • Irina Burchard Erdvik

摘要

Problems in adult couple relationships are common and may adversely impact many domains of life, including physical and mental health, work life, and child and family functioning. Although public and private services offer help for couples struggling with relationship problems, these services are of no use if struggling couples do not seek and receives help. Research on inclination toward seeking help for couple-relationship problems is scarce, especially from a comparative perspective. This chapter aims to bridge this research gap. It offers insights into inclination toward seeking help and perceived accessibility of services for couple-relationship problems in Norway and Poland, because they have varying policies, although we do not know if perceptions of accessibility differ. This study answers two interrelated research questions: (1) Are there differences between Norway and Poland in inclined help seeking and perceived accessibility in case of relationship problems? and (2) are there differences between Norway and Poland in how different dimensions of accessibility predict inclined help seeking? The findings from the quantitative survey with 663 Norwegian informants (Mage = 47.27, SD = 10.41, 49.3% men) and 3000 Polish informants and 3000 Polish informants (Mage = 43.92, SD = 11.28, 47.6% men), utilizing various analysis methods, showed that there are differences between the two contexts in inclined help seeking. Norwegian participants were more likely to seek help from public services, if they had relationship problems, than Polish participants. Besides, the results showed that age and the six dimensions of access, that is, awareness, availability, accessibility, and acceptability, all predicted inclined help seeking. Investigating country differences in how the different dimensions of access predicted inclined help seeking in each country, the results showed that the relationship between awareness (finding it useful) and accessibility (physical access satisfactory) of public services and inclined help seeking was stronger in Norway than in Poland.