{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,31]],"date-time":"2025-12-31T10:55:01Z","timestamp":1767178501515,"version":"build-2238731810"},"reference-count":53,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,17]],"date-time":"2025-11-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1763337600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec001\">\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This mixed-method study aimed to investigate factors associated with treatment-seeking behaviors in people with obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms in the community and explore their experiences along the dynamic of treatment-seeking processes.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec002\">\n                    <jats:title>Method<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Eighty-one subjects with OC symptoms (27 treatment seekers and 54 non-seekers) completed online questionnaires about treatment history, symptom severity, and factors influencing treatment-seeking. The characteristics of treatment seekers and non-seekers were compared using Pearson\u2019s Chi-square and independent T-tests. Qualitative data were derived from a subset of 26 participants undergoing a follow-up telephone interview and subsequently analyzed by thematic analysis.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec003\">\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Treatment seeking was associated with more severe overall OC and obsessive symptoms and more feeling out of control over the symptoms (p\u2009&lt;\u2009.05). Qualitative analyses revealed three main themes of barriers (i.e., displacement of causation, perceived controllability, and thresholds to access treatment) intricately tied to the stages of help-seeking, from problem recognition to service utilization. The need to control was identified as a key determinant in shifting between the vicious OC-illusionary-control loop and the treatment-seeking-control loop along the dynamic of treatment-seeking processes.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec004\">\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The symptom severity and feeling out of control are critical factors associated with treatment-seeking among people with OC symptoms in the community. Enhancing the feeling of control could be pivotal in promoting help-seeking behaviors in this population.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0337010","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,17]],"date-time":"2025-11-17T18:22:51Z","timestamp":1763403771000},"page":"e0337010","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["The dynamic of treatment-seeking in a community sample with obsessive-compulsive symptoms: A mixed method 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