Help-Seeking Attitudes of University Students in Turkey

Cebi E., Demir A. G.

International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, cilt.42, sa.1, ss.37-47, 2020 (ESCI) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 42 Sayı: 1
  • Basım Tarihi: 2020
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1007/s10447-019-09385-7
  • Dergi Adı: International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus, IBZ Online, International Bibliography of Social Sciences, Educational research abstracts (ERA), ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Psycinfo, Social services abstracts, Sociological abstracts
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.37-47
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Help-seeking attitudes, University students, Friends, Turkey, MENTAL-HEALTH-SERVICES, GENDER-ROLE CONFLICT, COLLEGE-STUDENTS, PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS, MULTIDIMENSIONAL SCALE, ASIAN-AMERICAN, PREVALENCE, EXPECTATIONS, WILLINGNESS, RELIABILITY
  • Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

© 2019, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.The study investigated the influence of perceived social support, psychological distress, gender, and prior help-seeking experience on 417 Turkish university students’ help-seeking attitudes and current state of help-seeking. Four instruments were utilized: Attitudes Toward Seeking Psychological Help-Shortened (ASPH-S), the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), and a demographic information form. The findings suggested that females possessed more favorable help-seeking attitudes than males, while no differences were found in terms of year of study. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that perceived social support (friends and significant other), prior help-seeking experience, and gender significantly predicted attitudes toward seeking psychological help. However, no relationship was found between psychological distress and help-seeking attitudes. Forty-seven percent of students were found to have knowledge of psychological services. Given that friends were the most frequently cited sources of information (24.2%) and sources of help (59%), personal relationships and gender need to be strongly considered in the design of intervention efforts to promote help-seeking attitudes.