Help-Seeking Attitudes of University Students in Turkey

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.