Development and Psychometric Evaluation of a Mental Health Help-Seeking Scale for Korean Adolescents

초록

Highlights What are the main findings? What are the implications of the main findings?Highlights What are the main findings? What are the implications of the main findings?Abstract Background/Objectives: Existing mental health help-seeking measures may not adequately reflect adolescents' developmental and sociocultural contexts. This study developed and evaluated a mental health help-seeking scale for Korean adolescents. Methods: Following DeVellis' guidelines, items were generated through concept analysis and in-depth interviews. Expert review reduced 50 initial items to 33 preliminary items. Data were collected from 500 adolescents in Gyeongsangbuk-do, Republic of Korea. EFA and CFA were conducted using separate samples of 250 participants. Results: The final scale comprised 16 items across three factors: Mental Health Help-Seeking Willingness, Overcoming Stigma in Mental Health Help-Seeking, and Knowledge of Mental Health Help-Seeking Resources. The factors explained 46.4% of the variance, and CFA provided preliminary support for the three-factor structure. Cronbach's alpha was 0.85 overall and ranged from 0.73 to 0.85 across subscales. Conclusions: The scale provides preliminary evidence of reliability and validity for assessing mental health help-seeking among Korean adolescents and may be useful in research and early-prevention settings.

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