To seek help or not to seek help: The risks of self-disclosure.

Abstract

Investigations into the reasons why people seek counseling have, for the most part, focused on approach factors, those variables that are associated with a potential client's increased likelihood of seeking psychological services. The purpose of this research, however, is to explore the role of avoidance factors, those factors that are associated with a potential client's decreased likelihood of seeking services. Across 2 studies of primarily Caucasian college students (ns ϭ 209 and 268, respectively), the results of simultaneous multiple regression analyses demonstrated that avoidance factors predict negative attitudes toward counseling as well as decreased intentions to seek counseling. Overall, results demonstrate that avoidance factors account for at least as much help-seeking variance as traditionally studied approach factors.

The Role of Outcome Expectations and Attitudes on Decisions to Seek Professional Help.

“…help-seeking studies (see Cepeda-Benito & Short, 1998;Kelly & Achter, 1995;Vogel & Wester, 2003). The zero-order correlations also showed that attitudes were related to intent to seek help for interpersonal, drug, and academic problems.…”

“…The anticipated utility and the anticipated risk of seeking help from a counselor were measured with the Disclosure Expectations Scale (DES; Vogel & Wester, 2003). The DES is an 8-item questionnaire designed to assess participants' expectations about the utility and the risks associated with talking about an emotional problem with a counselor.…”

“…Indeed, studies have demonstrated several psychological factors that inhibit help seeking from a professional. These psychological factors are fear of treatment (Amato & Bradshaw, 1985;Kushner & Sher, 1989;Pipes, Schwarz, & Crouch, 1985), anticipated costs (Vogel & Wester, 2003), desire to avoid discussing distressing information (Cepeda-Benito & Short, 1998;Cramer, 1999;Kelly & Achter, 1995;Vogel & Wester, 2003), desire to avoid experiencing painful feelings (Komiya et al, 2000), and desire to avoid the social stigma or negative judgments from others (Deane & Chamberlain, 1994).…”

“…Some studies, for example, have reported that psychological distress and social support do not significantly predict help-seeking intent (Kelly & Achter, 1995;Vogel & Wester, 2003), whereas others show a connection between these factors and intent to seek help (Cepeda-Benito & Short, 1998;Cramer, 1999). Similarly, other studies have demonstrated that certain factors that should decrease or inhibit help seeking, such as the desire to avoid self-disclosing painful feelings or fears about what therapy will be like, affect help-seeking decisions (Kelly & Achter, 1995;Kushner & Sher, 1989;Vogel & Wester, 2003), whereas others do not (Carlton & Deane, 2000;Deane & Todd, 1996). As a result, it is important to directly examine these psychological factors simultaneously with a more sophisticated analysis such as structural equation modeling (SEM).…”

Identifying barriers to mental health help-seeking among young adults in the UK: a cross-sectional survey

“…[9][10][11][12] Barriers to help-seeking can include difficulties in accessing support, concerns about confidentiality and trust, a preference for informal sources of help, and stigma. 13,14 Although existing studies, including those outside of the UK, have focused on mental health help-seeking among adolescents, 10,15 university students, [16][17][18] or adults of all ages, 13,19 few have reported on the barriers experienced by young adults aged 18-25 years from the UK general population. This age group is an important cohort to study, as it is typically associated with a separation from parents and a transition into adulthood when important decisions regarding education, career, and intimate relationships are made.…”