INTERPERSONAL DEPENDENCY AND HEALTH-SERVICE UTILIZATION IN A COLLEGE-STUDENT SAMPLE

The relationship between interpersonal dependency and health service u tilization (i.e., ''medical help-seeking'') was examined in 92 healthy undergraduate subjects (60 women and 32 men). Subjects were prescreen ed for level of dependency before the start of the study, and then pro vided monthly reports of health status and health service utilization over a one-semester (i.e., three-month) period. Level of dependency pr edicted number of visits to the college health center and number of vi sits to private physicians in both men and women, even when health sta tus was controlled for statistically. Results are discussed in the con text of previous research on dependency and help-seeking in laboratory , classroom, social, and medical settings.