Psychological Factors in College Students' Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

This study examines the relationships between attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help, which was determined with the Attitude Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale, and relevant psychological variables. For this study, the authors narrowed the study field to 19, which included a total of 7,397 participants, and used the MIX (Meta-analysis with Interactive eXplanations) program. The following 9 variables were chosen for the study: anticipated benefit, anticipated risks, depression, distress, self-concealment, self-disclosure, social support, public-stigma, and self-stigma. Although most variables significantly correlated with help-seeking attitudes, the authors found the largest effect sizes were for self-stigma, anticipated benefits, and self-disclosure. They discuss the practical implications of the result on the mental health professionals.