College students' intentions to seek help for suicidal ideation: accounting for the help-negation effect

Suicide Life Threat Behav. 2010 Oct;40(5):438-50. doi: 10.1521/suli.2010.40.5.438.

Abstract

Prior research has identified a negative association between suicidal ideation and help-seeking, a phenomenon called "help-negation." Help-negation has been documented to occur for both professional and nonprofessional sources of help. In this study help-seeking attitudes, stigma concerns, and perceptions of social support were examined as possible mediators of help-negation. Data were collected from a nonclinical sample of college undergraduates at a midwestern university (N = 321). Findings provided partial support for the mediation hypotheses. Help-seeking attitudes and stigma were significant predictors of help-seeking intentions (β = .34 and β = -.17, p < .05, respectively), but did not mediate help-negation for professional sources. Perceptions of social support, on the other hand, fully mediated help-negation for nonprofessional sources (β = .27, p < .05).

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Attitude to Health
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Intention*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Midwestern United States
  • Patient Acceptance of Health Care / psychology*
  • Patient Acceptance of Health Care / statistics & numerical data
  • Regression Analysis
  • Social Support
  • Stereotyping
  • Student Health Services
  • Students / psychology*
  • Suicidal Ideation*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Universities
  • Young Adult