Self-stigma is an important factor in people's decisions not to engage in therapy. To measure this construct, the authors developed the 10-item Self-Stigma of Seeking Help (SSOSH) scale. In Study 1 (n = 583), the SSOSH had a unidimensional factor structure and good reliability (0.91) among participants. Study 2 (n = 470) confirmed the factor…

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the challenges African-American women in abusive relationships face when they consider seeking-help from their informal networks. Data are reported from interviews with 15 African-American women who were self-identified as having survived physical intimate partner violence. A 13-item,…

Despite the importance of health information seeking, not all people engage in such behaviors, especially when thinking about the disease is distressing. The focus of this paper is to examine the antecedents of information seeking and retention. Based on individuals' risk perception and efficacy beliefs, the risk perception attitude framework is…

Information about which clients perceive psychologists as professional resources for which type of symptom is of interest in the marketing of psychological services. Gender and age have shown the most consistent relationships, while race, income, and education are less clear. This study examined absolute and relative preference for various types…

Identifies several theoretical and methodological obstacles that limit understanding of the variable ways that men do or do not seek help from mental and physical health care professionals, noting sex differences in help-seeking behavior. Develops a contextual framework by exploring how the socialization and social construction of masculinities…

Surveyed Asian American college students, assessing severity of 24 problems. Factor analysis reduced 24 problems to 8 areas of concern. Found severity ratings for eight areas related to acculturation and ethnicity. Women and low-medium acculturated students expressed greater willingness to see counselor than did men and high-acculturated students.…

Compared attitudes of Chinese and American graduate students toward counselors/counseling process. Findings from 148 American and 102 Chinese students suggest that American students tended to perceive problems as more serious than did Chinese students. It appeared that Chinese students did not differ from American students in preference for…

Investigated relationships between attitudes toward male role, gender role conflict factors, and depression in college men (n=401). Found all four gender role conflict factors significantly correlated with depression. Results suggest more traditional men may experience compounded risk of depression coupled with decreased use of counseling…

The functional relation between the need for academic assistance and help seeking was examined for 612 undergraduates at a large midwestern university. Results support a curvilinear relation between help seeking and need for assistance; help-seeking increased from low to moderate need levels, then decreased for high need levels. (TJH)

Examined problems for which selected high school seniors (N=1,734) would seek help from high school counselors. Results showed that students felt more comfortable talking to counselors about school-related administrative concerns than about personal problems. Recommends that counselors clearly define role and avoid being paper oriented instead of…

The help-seeking behavior of 715 Australian late adolescents with personal problems was assessed 5 times over 12 months. The help-seeking behavior of these adolescents did not appear to alleviate their psychological distress effectively. Focusing on problems by talking about them may have intensified rather than relieved their problems. (SLD)

Repeatedly assessed rape victims (n=115) and matched comparison group (n=87) for somatic symptoms, psychological distress, health care use, and self-rated health perceptions during year immediately after assault. Women who experienced sexual assault reported more somatic complaints, poorer perceptions of physical health, greater psychological…

Studied frequency and style of help-seeking in 18- and 24-month olds observed at free play and problem-solving. Found that younger toddlers sought less help than older toddlers; both groups sought more help during problem solving than in free play. Older toddlers increased vocal help-seeking whereas younger toddlers sought help through vocal and…

Intends to show in tutor-novice problem-solving situations that the frequency and nature of the novice's requests vary with the type of tutor. Examines frequency, form, and content of children's requests with a child tutor, their mother, and a female experimenter. Reports and discusses the findings. (DSK)

A scale to assess the goal of avoiding the demonstration of lack of ability (performance-avoid) was included with scales assessing approach goals for 703 sixth graders. Performance-avoid scales negatively predicted academic efficacy and positively predicted avoiding seeking help and test anxiety. Implications for goal theory are discussed. (SLD)