Factors Influencing High School Students’ Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help

Abstract

Background:

Enhancing adolescents’ willingness to seek professional psychological help is essential for improving mental health service utilization. Previous research suggests that depression literacy, stigma, depressive symptoms, and family factors—particularly caregivers’ perspectives—play important roles in shaping help-seeking attitudes. However, few studies have simultaneously examined these factors from both adolescents’ and caregivers’ viewpoints.

Aims:

This study aimed to examine how depression literacy, stigma, depressive symptoms, and caregivers’ attitudes toward professional psychological help influence adolescents’ help-seeking attitudes, while controlling for relevant sociodemographic variables.

Method:

A cross-sectional study was conducted with adolescents and their primary caregivers recruited from public and private high schools in northern Taiwan. Participants completed questionnaires on demographics, depression literacy, stigma, depressive symptoms, and attitudes toward professional psychological help. Hierarchical regression analyses were performed, adjusting for key sociodemographic variables.

Results:

After controlling for caregivers’ religious beliefs, marital status, and education, as well as adolescents’ prior use of mental health services, academic satisfaction, and interpersonal difficulties, the strongest predictors of adolescents’ help-seeking attitudes were their depressive symptoms, personal stigma, and caregivers’ attitudes toward professional psychological help.

Conclusion:

Adolescents’ help-seeking attitudes are shaped by both their own psychological experiences and their caregivers’ perspectives. Targeted interventions should prioritize stigma reduction, symptom recognition and management, and caregiver engagement to foster timely and effective help-seeking among adolescents.