Mental health help-seeking by university students
LE3 .A278 2015
2015
MacLeod, Peter
Acadia University
Bachelor of Arts
Honours
Psychology
The present study explored the mental health help-seeking attitudes and behaviours of students attending a small, primarily undergraduate university (n = 949). The purpose of the study was to explore students’ usage and satisfaction of current resources, and to investigate the help-seeking behaviour of students indicating poor mental health. The data consisted of: a) archival data provided by the university’s counseling centre, and b) an online survey created for the purposes of this study. Results found that students are overwhelmingly more likely to seek help from informal sources (e.g., romantic partners, friends, etc.) than from professionals. Notably, symptomatic students are significantly less likely than their peers to feel well-informed about the counseling services, and about the role and effectiveness of a counselor. Lastly, although counseling service usage has risen noticeably over the past five years, client satisfaction is less than ideal. It is apparent that the university must accommodate for student mental health help-seeking attitudes, if they are to effectively reach and support students in need. Keywords: mental health help-seeking, university students, mental health services
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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:1190