Help-Seeking Attitudes of University Students in Turkey

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esra Çebi ◽  
Ayhan Demir
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Help Seeking Attitudes

scholarly journals Causal beliefs of mental illness and its impact on help-seeking attitudes: a cross-sectional study among university students in Singapore

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. e035818
Author(s):  
Gregory Tee Hng Tan ◽  
Shazana Shahwan ◽  
Chong Ming Janrius Goh ◽  
Wei Jie Ong ◽  
Ellaisha Samari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
University Students ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Social Contact ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Considerable Proportion ◽  
Causal Beliefs ◽  
Professional Help ◽  
Help Seeking Attitudes ◽  
Beliefs About Mental Illness

ObjectivesA considerable proportion of those who suffer from mental illnesses in Singapore do not seek any form of professional help. The reluctance to seek professional help could be due to misconceptions about the causes of mental illnesses. Research has shown that help-seeking attitudes can predict actual service use. As young adults are most at risk of developing mental illnesses, this study aims to elucidate the impact of causal beliefs about mental illness on help-seeking attitudes among university students in Singapore.DesignPrior to attending an anti-stigma intervention, data on the Causal Beliefs about Mental Illness, Inventory of Attitudes towards Seeking Mental Health services and questions pertaining to sociodemographic background were collected from participants using a self-administered questionnaire. Multiple linear regressions were performed to examine the relationship between causal beliefs and help-seeking, as well as their sociodemographic correlates.SettingsA university in Singapore.Participants390 students who were studying in a University in Singapore.ResultsYounger age was associated with higher scores on psychosocial attribution, while prior social contact with individuals with mental illness was significantly associated with lower scores on personality attribution. With regard to help-seeking attitudes; being a male and personality attribution were significantly associated with lower scores on ‘Psychological Openness’ and ‘Indifference to Stigma’, while psychosocial attribution was significantly associated with higher scores on ‘Help-seeking Propensity’. Having prior social contact also predicted higher ‘Psychological Openness’, while being in Year 2 and 3 predicted lower scores on ’Indifference to Stigma’.ConclusionFindings from this study suggest that help-seeking attitudes might be influenced by causal beliefs, with personality attribution being the most impairing. Hence, to reduce the wide treatment gap in Singapore, anti-stigma interventions targeting young people could focus on addressing beliefs that attribute mental illness to the personality of the individual.

scholarly journals The potential impact of an anti-stigma intervention on mental health help-seeking attitudes among university students

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shazana Shahwan ◽  
Jue Hua Lau ◽  
Chong Min Janrius Goh ◽  
Wei Jie Ong ◽  
Gregory Tee Hng Tan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
University Students ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Mental Health Field ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Help Seeking Attitudes ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Health Field

Abstract Background The reluctance of young adults to seek mental health treatment has been attributed to poor mental health literacy, stigma, preference for self-reliance and concerns about confidentiality. The purpose of this study was to examine the potential impact of an anti-stigma intervention that includes education about depression, information about help-seeking as well as contact with a person with lived experience, on help seeking attitudes. Methods A pre-post study design was employed. Changes in help-seeking attitudes were measured using the Inventory of Attitudes towards Seeking Mental Health Services (IASMHS) immediately post-intervention and after 3 months. Sociodemographic data, information on past experiences in the mental health field and contact with people with mental illness were collated. Three hundred ninety university students enrolled in the study. Linear mixed models were used to examine the effects of the intervention. Results Scores on all subscales of the IASMHS, Psychological Openness (PO), Help-seeking Propensity (HP) and Indifference to Stigma improved significantly post-intervention and at 3-month follow-up compared to pre-intervention, with HP demonstrating the highest effect size. However, a significant decline was observed on all three scales at 3-month follow-up compared to post-intervention. Gender, having friends/family with mental illness, and previous experience in the mental health field moderated the intervention effects for the PO and HP subscales. Conclusion The study showed that the brief anti-stigma intervention was associated with improvements in help-seeking attitudes among university students with differential effects among certain sub-groups. As the beneficial outcomes appeared to decrease over time, booster sessions or opportunities to participate in mental health-related activities post-intervention may be required to maintain the desired changes in help-seeking attitudes.

scholarly journals A primary investigation of professional help-seeking attitudes, self-concealment and gender roles of university students

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 59-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaşar Özbay ◽  
Şerife Terzi ◽  
Serdar Erkan ◽  
Zeynep Cihangir Çankaya
Keyword(s):  
Gender Roles ◽  
University Students ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Female Gender ◽  
Socioeconomic Level ◽  
Professional Help ◽  
Help Seeking Attitudes ◽  
Positive Attitudes

The aim of this study is to investigate the professional help-seeking attitudes of university students from their gender, gender roles, the perspective of socioeconomic level and self concealment. Professional Help-Seeking Attitudes Scale-Short Form, Self-Concealment Scale, Bem Gender Role Inventory, and personal information form have been used as data gathering tools. Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, t-test and one way anova. The results of the study show that professional help-seeking attitudes among female students are more positive than the male students; those in low or middle socioeconomic level has more positive attitudes; those with female gender roles and those with high androgens have more positive attitudes than male and ambiguous gender roles; and the students who have high levels of selfconcealment have negative attitudes toward seeking psychological help.

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