According to previous literature, there are important differences, based on gender, on the external factors that affect psychiatric visits of individuals. Females are, in general, more likely to report being affected by family and emotional issues whilst men are less likely to do so.

To examine gender differences in external factors affecting psychiatric visits.

To investigate whether females report different external factors, which impact on the decision to visit a psychiatrist, compared to males.

In this study, there were 1205 participants, out of them 685 were males (56.8%) and 520 females (43.2%). The mean age was 45.54. Convenience sampling method was used and participants were recruited from the general hospital of Nikaia, “Ag. Panteleimon”, in Athens, Greece, from 01/01/2012 to 31/12/2015. The data were analysed through the SPSS software.

There were significant gender differences in external factors reported for psychiatric visits, as Chi2 (8): 185.608, P < 0.001. More specifically, more women reported being affected by family problems (5.5%) compared to men (2.6%). Additionally, more females reported being affected by emotional issues (7%) compared to men (5.6%) and psychological issues were more important for women (13.9%) compared to men (7.5%), as well. However, more men reported addictions as the external factors impacting on psychiatric visits (23.1%) compared to women (6.6%).

There are significant differences in the external factors affecting psychiatric visits between men and women. Further investigating such differences could help us better understand the reasons affecting the individuals’ decision to seek psychiatric help.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.