Name: | Description: | Size: | Format: | |
---|---|---|---|---|
354.46 KB | Adobe PDF |
Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Mental health is an essential element of wellness; however, some populations are more
vulnerable to mental health problems. Suicide is the second-highest cause of death in young people
and help-seeking unwillingness is a significant obstacle to mental health interventions. Young people
are especially reluctant to seek help and negative attitudes stand out as help-seeking barriers, highlighting the importance of evaluating these constructs. The Inventory of Attitudes toward Seeking
Mental Health Services (IASMHS) is a measure that evaluates help-seeking attitudes; nevertheless,
it lacks applicability in Portuguese youth. This study aims to explore the psychometric characteristics
of the IASMHS in 750 Portuguese adolescents (52.3% female, Mage = 14.67), through exploratory and
confirmatory factor analysis, and reliability and validity analyses. Results suggest that a three-factor
structure was adequate, those factors being help-seeking propensity, indifference to stigma, and
psychological openness. The IASMHS was shortened to 20 items and revealed satisfactory properties regarding internal consistency, convergent/discriminant validity, and temporal stability. These
findings validate the IASMHS as an adequate tool in the assessment of young people’s help-seeking
attitudes.
Description
Keywords
Help-seeking Adolescent Protective factor Psychometric study Mental health Suicide
Citation
Social Sciences 11 (7): 284 (2022)
Publisher
MDPI