ORIGINAL PAPER Predictors of Health Care Use Among Individuals Seeking Therapy for Marital and Family Problems: An Exploratory Study Jacob D. Christenson • D. Russell Crane • McArthur Hafen Jr. • Stacy Hamilton • G. Bruce Schaalje Published online: 11 June 2011 Ó Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011 Abstract A number of studies have examined variables associated with health care use. However, no study is known to have considered health care use among people seeking services for marital and family problems. In this study, health care use of persons (N = 110) seeking these services was investigated to determine the strongest psychosocial correlates of health care use. The goal was to identify potential ‘‘targets’’ of clinical intervention that may be driving excessive health care use. ‘‘Informational support’’ and ‘‘somatization’’ were the strongest correlates for the complete sample, with the model explaining 24% of the variance in health care use. For ‘‘high users’’ of health care, ‘‘hostility’’ was the strongest correlate, accounting for more than 36% of the variance in health care use. Keywords Health care use Á Collaborative care Á Medical offset Á Offset effect Á Provision of services Á Effectiveness of services Introduction For years a leading view in both mental health and medicine has been that functioning of the mind and body are independent of one another (Pelletier 2002). However, with the J. D. Christenson Marriage and Family Therapy Program, Northcentral University, Prescott Valley, AZ, USA D. Russell Crane Á S. Hamilton Marriage and Family Therapy Program, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA M. Hafen Jr. College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA G. Bruce Schaalje Department of Statistics, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA J. D. Christenson (&) PO Box 567, Loa, UT 84747, USA e-mail: jchristenson@my.ncu.edu 123 Contemp Fam Ther (2011) 33:441–460 DOI 10.1007/s10591-011-9159-1