Abstract:
Though there is a high level of mental health related difficulties among
university students, only one third of them seek psychological help despite the
evidence-based treatments for mental health problems. Therefore, this paper
examines the help seeking attitudes towards psychological help services and
willingness to seek psychological help based on the Theory of Planned Behavior
(TPB). Attitudes, subjective norms, and behavioral control were measured using
the Inventory of Attitudes toward Seeking Mental Health Services (IASMHS).
Barriers for seeking psychological help were measured using Mental Health
Service Utilization Questions (MHSUQ) whereas intention to seek
psychological help was measured using the General Help Seeking Questionnaire
– Vignette Version (GHSQ-V). 600 students were interviewed from three Sri
Lankan state universities from January 2015 to March 2015. Results suggested
that positive attitudes towards psychological help service positively associate
with greater willingness to seek psychological help. Further, female students
show a greater attitude seeking psychological help than male students. The most
common barrier reported by students was that the fear of what relatives, friends
might think. In contrast, students who follow psychology as a subject have a
significantly higher level of positive attitude towards seeking psychological help
than the students who do not follow. Findings suggest that mental health
campaigns are required to focus their attention to change the negative attitudes
towards mental health services among university students. Further, it highlights
the importance of changing the public attitudes towards mental illnesses.
