Attitudes toward help-seeking behavior in a sample of university students in Lebanon -

Abstract

This study is concerned with an examination of the predictors of attitudes toward help-seeking behavior in a sample of university students. Attitudes toward help-seeking behavior are defined as the degree to which an individual has a favorable or unfavorable evaluation of the actual help-seeking behavior. There is an increased recognition in the literature of the predictors of attitudes toward help-seeking behavior. The literature has focused on the effect of self-stigma, social-stigma, family cohesion and gender on attitudes toward help-seeking behavior. There has been less focus on other factors, such as knowledge about psychotherapy and counseling, causes of mental illness, religiosity and awareness of resources. Furthermore, the relation between Westernization and attitudes toward help-seeking behavior does not seem to be present in the published literature. Also apparent is the absence of research on the topic of attitudes toward help-seeking behavior in the Lebanese context. A total of 291 undergraduate students at the American University of Beirut completed an online questionnaire. Self-stigma, balanced cohesion, knowledge about counseling and psychotherapy, Westernization and non-disclosure of family issues were significant predictors of attitudes toward help-seeking behavior. Social-stigma, enmeshment, disengagement, beliefs in the causes of mental illness, awareness of resources, religiosity and gender were not significant predictors of attitudes toward help-seeking behavior. The interpretations of the findings and the limitations of the study were discussed.