Chinese Students’ Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help

Abstract

In this study 1,453 Chinese high school and college students' attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help and factors contributing to attitude differences were examined. Results revealed that Chinese students possessed generally positive attitudes and their attitudes were significantly associated with gender, prior counseling contact and prior knowledge about counseling and psychology. Previous help-seeking behavior for a major problem was predictive of respondent attitudes. Students with a broad range of help-seeking preferences had more positive attitudes than students with a narrower range. Students who sought help from parents or teachers perceived counseling more positively than students not seeking such help; this result was more significant for high school students. College students' attitudes differed more in the area of whether or not to seek help. In addition, family structure was related to two dimensions of attitudes toward help seekinginterpersonal openness and stigma tolerance, but not to attitudes toward seeking psychological help.

Attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help among Chinese students at a UK university

“…Counselling and clinical psychology services are widely available in western cultures but recent times have also seen a significant increase in the availability of these services in the PRC as a result of government action in response to the increasing number of people experiencing mental health difficulties (e.g. Chang & Kleinman, 2002;Goh et al, 2007;Yip, 2005). The fact that PRC students reported less interpersonal openness than British students towards seeking professional help may lend support for Boey's (1999) view that the self-reliant tendencies characteristic of Chinese people might result in a reluctance to disclose emotional difficulties to others, thus limiting interpersonal openness.…”

“…On the other hand, the findings concerning interpersonal openness seem to imply that it may be personally challenging for Chinese international students to disclose emotional difficulties. Chinese people's tendency to be self-reliant and to not compete for scarce resources may make them less inclined to access support services, when alternative options are available (Goh et al, 2007). It is possible that Chinese international students see pastoral care and counselling as types of supports that are associated with renqing (i.e.…”

Experiences of Asian psychologists and counselors trained in the USA: an exploratory study

“…Considering the underdeveloped status of the counseling discipline in many Asian countries, counseling is still a relatively foreign concept to the general public; consequently, people have a poor understanding of what counseling is. In addition, the stigma of seeking professional help in Asian countries remains a barrier to accessing mental health services (Yoo et al 2005;Goh et al 2007). …”

Costruzione e Validazione del questionario ISCOS: uno studio preliminare sugli Indicatori di Sviluppo del COunselling Scolastico

“…Accanto a questo filone di studi di efficacia, condotti con studenti che hanno usufruito del servizio, è possibile individuare un altro filone di ricerche che invece si è concentrato sull'analisi delle attitudini degli studenti a partecipare al counselling e, più in generale, a ricercare un aiuto psicologico professionale nei counsellor operanti presso i vari contesti scolastici (Winograd & Shick Tryon, 2009;Goh et al, 2007;Takamura et al, 2008;Sayal, 2006;Ajzen, 2002;Raviv et al, 2000;Kuhl, Jarkon-Horlick, & Morrissey, 1997). Anche in questo ambito si annoverano strumenti ampiamente utilizzati in diversi contesti che hanno mostrato buone qualità psico-metriche, come il BASH (Barriers to Adolescents Seeking Help) (Kuhl, JarkonHorlick, & Morrissey, 1997), il GHSQ (General Help-Seeking Questionnaire) , il ASPH (Attitudes toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale) (Fisher & Farina, 2005), o strumenti costruiti ad hoc per gli obiettivi del singolo studio, come il SSATGES (Secondary School Students' Attitude Towards Guidance and Counselling Service Questionnaire) (Eyo, Joshua, & Esuong, 2010).…”