Abstract
How does peer support effect the ability of students to seek out mental health help from a professional? In this study, the experimenter investigates the type of support the students receive from their peers and how that affects their ability to seek out help from a professional. Accurate intention-seeking of students was recorded for both the behavioral concerns and their support types. A Mental Help Seeking Intention Scale was used to measure the data collected in this study. It was found that the behavioral concern (mental, physical) of a student does not matter in this study, nor did the type of support (positive, no-support, negative) they received matter in the study. An area in the results suggested when students receive negative support despite the behavioral concern, they might seek out professional help as the data was leading towards significance in the study. These results confirm that peer effects may not play an effective role in the students’ intentions of seeking out professional help.
Keywords
Mental Health, support type, positive support, negative support, no support, Physical health
Included in
Clinical Psychology Commons, Community Psychology Commons, Counseling Psychology Commons, Health Psychology Commons, Other Psychology Commons
PSY-7 Peer Effects of Seeking Mental Health Help From a Professional
University Readiness Center Greatroom
How does peer support effect the ability of students to seek out mental health help from a professional? In this study, the experimenter investigates the type of support the students receive from their peers and how that affects their ability to seek out help from a professional. Accurate intention-seeking of students was recorded for both the behavioral concerns and their support types. A Mental Help Seeking Intention Scale was used to measure the data collected in this study. It was found that the behavioral concern (mental, physical) of a student does not matter in this study, nor did the type of support (positive, no-support, negative) they received matter in the study. An area in the results suggested when students receive negative support despite the behavioral concern, they might seek out professional help as the data was leading towards significance in the study. These results confirm that peer effects may not play an effective role in the students’ intentions of seeking out professional help.