Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2009, Counseling Psychology

This study sought to increase current understanding of men's help-seeking intentions using the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA; Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980). The TRA provides a comprehensive framework to simultaneously assess several beliefs that may contribute to the formation of attitudes and subjective norms that, in turn, determine a person's intention to perform a specific behavior such as seeking psychological help. Using existing psychological measures of help-seeking variables (i.e., attitudes, subjective norms, anticipated risks and benefits of self-disclosure, treatment fears, self-disclosure willingness, social and personal stigma for seeking psychological help) and masculinity constructs (i.e., gender role conflict and conformity to traditional male norms), this study examined a fully mediated and partially mediated TRA model to predict help-seeking intentions in a sample of college men (N = 338). Results from both models revealed a less-than-adequate fit with the data, accounting for 18.1% to 26.5% of the variance in men's help-seeking intentions. Based on these results, an alternative post-hoc TRA model was examined and found to be an excellent fit with the data, accounting for 42.4% of the variance in men's help-seeking intentions. Overall, results from this study supported an alternative partially mediated TRA model that accounted for a large portion of variance in men's help-seeking intentions.

Committee: David Tokar Dr. (Advisor) Subjects: Health Care; Mental Health; Psychology; Psychotherapy; Therapy

MDES, University of Cincinnati, 2021, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Design

Background: University students have a high prevalence of mental illness, but research demonstrates they are reluctant to seek help. Objective: This study aimed to improve their help-seeking behavior by assessing the challenges university students faced that prevent them from seeking help. Methods: University students aged 18-25 with mental illness who reluctant to seek professional mental health assistance were recruited through an online survey. The study used qualitative research methods to access participants' attitudes towards mental illness and help-seeking behavior. Interviews were conducted to gather a deeper understanding of their barriers and frustrations. Participatory design sessions and three rounds of prototype testing were conducted at the design phase from design concept to high-fidelity prototype in order to measure the efficacy of the design. Results: A total of 73 responses were collected, and 46 of them are eligible participants. Interviews were conducted with seven eligible participants. The result indicated that negative attitudes are significantly associated with mental illness. In addition to the negative attitudes, the participants also indicated that lack of awareness, knowledge, trust, social and financial support were barriers for them to taking action. A mobile app that includes a series of key elements that fights the barriers that prevent them from help-seeking was proposed. Conclusion: Participants expressed high interest in the mental health app and appreciated some of the main features in contrast to the current in-person and web-based services portal. The mobile-based application should be able to provide an efficient mental health service for university students who have a mental illness, especially in terms of help-seeking behaviors.

Committee: Yong-Gyun Ghim M.Des. M.S. (Committee Chair); Rebecca Vidourek Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Design

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2021, Health Education

Latinos who qualify for Deferred Action Childhood Arrival (DACA) and currently attend institutions of higher education are a unique subset of this population in the United States. The current literature focuses on all Latino DACA whether in or out of college, recipients' experiences of discrimination and its impact on their mental health, and their lack of healthcare access: However, literature solely focusing on Latino collegiate DACA recipients is limited. Moreover, Latino collegiate DACA recipients have greater access to health care and health services through their universities, unlike non- collegiate DACA recipients. This dissertation proposes to study the how experiences of discrimination and microaggression affect help seeking behavior and utilization of mental health services of Latino DACA college students. Online survey will be sent to Latino students born in the United States and Latino DACA students to compare experiences of discrimination and its effects on mental health help seeking behavior and/or utilization of mental health services in both groups. Online survey data will be analyzed to measure if the observed Latino DACA collegiate students use of mental health services differ from the Latino college students born in the U.S. Logistic regression and linear regression. The difference in effect of experiences of discrimination on help-seeking and utilization of mental health services of Latino DACA college students compared to Latino college students born in the United States will also be analyzed. Phenomenological study interviews will be conducted with 30 Latino DACA students who had taken the previous online survey to analyze their experiences with discrimination and their mental health help seeking behavior and/or utilization of mental health services. These interviews will be collected and analyzed using thematic analysis to draw out key themes related to experiencing discrimination and mental health help-seeking behavior. Looking at the experi (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Shipra Singh (Committee Chair); Barbara Saltzman (Committee Member); Noela Haughton (Committee Member); Joseph Dake (Committee Member) Subjects: Health Education; Mental Health; Public Health

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2019, Organizational Behavior

Organizational researchers have long had an interest in how employees informally seek and help in organizations. While some helping in organizations occurs by both a willing helper (e.g., proactive helping) and target (help-seeking behavior), limited research has focused on helping behavior involving reluctant helpers and help targets. Dyadic forms of proactive helping, such has interpersonal helping, will only lead to desired organizational outcomes if employees accept their coworkers' offers to help. Past research has found that reluctant help targets (employees with reservations about accepting discretionary workplace help) tend to receive worse supervisor evaluations of job performance and receive less support and help from their coworkers, but no research has explored explanations (i.e. mediators) for this negative relationship. Understanding why reluctant help targets perform worse at work is important because without accepting help, employees may fail at managing their self-regulation and improvement and, thus job performance. In this dissertation, I build theory to support the notion that a reluctance to accept help leads to workplace stress and, in turn, decreased levels of employee job performance. Using job demands-resources theory, I hypothesize and find support that the negative relationship between reluctant help targets and multiple dimensions of employee job performance is mediated (individually and in tandem) by two work stressors: role overload and emotional exhaustion. These findings provide important contributions to the helping behavior literature including (1) comparing and contrasting reluctant help-seeking and reluctant help targets; (2) demonstrating that being reluctant to accept help begins a resource depletion process which leaves employees overburdened, emotionally exhausted and, in turn, inadequate resources to meet job demands in order to achieve adequate job performance. Future research directions are also discussed.

Committee: John Paul Stephens Ph.D. (Advisor); Diana Bilimoria Ph.D. (Committee Member); Melvin Smith Ph.D. (Committee Member); Casey Newmeyer Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Management; Organizational Behavior; Psychology

MDES, University of Cincinnati, 2019, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Design

Chinese international students face high rates of professional mental health (MH) concerns, but they demonstrate less help-seeking behaviors, such as seeking professional counseling. The underutilization of MH resources presents a challenge to colleges and universities. This study is aimed at assessing the perceptions and the barriers of international Chinese graduate students that prevent them from accessing professional MH services at UC. The goal of this study is to create a toolkit that addresses cultural sensitivity to help these students easily conduct self-directed MH care at an early stage. This study uses qualitative research methods to allow participants to extensively express their experiences and perceptions of professional MH services. About 10 in-depth interviews were conducted with graduate Chinese international students at UC, that included but not limited to the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP) students. Three significant barriers preventing Chinese graduate students from accessing MH services are lack of mental health resources, concerns of privacy protection, and language interpretation. Additionally, limited knowledge of self-directed care, lack regular treatment time due to busy academic schedules and a shortage of culturally appropriate services pose further difficulties.

Committee: Craig Vogel M.I.D. (Committee Chair); Gerald Michaud M.A. (Committee Member); Danny T. Y. Wu PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Design

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2018, Counselor Education (Education)

The increasing severity and complexity of mental health problems among the college population in the U.S. in the recent years have been well documented (American College Counseling Association, 2015). At the same time, increasing number of international students from Asian countries have enrolled in the U.S. institutions of higher education (Institute of International Education, 2016). Asian international students were reported to have severe mental health issues and low intention to seek help from counseling and psychological services (Han, Han, Luo, Jacobs, & Jean-Baptiste, 2013). The focus of this research was to investigate the mental health of Asian international students in the U.S. through a nationwide sample. The researcher of the study employed secondary data analysis to study the differences of mental health and help-seeking related variables among Asian international students, American students, and other international students. The four-year data (2011-2014) from American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment were used. Moreover, Confirmatory Factorial Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was applied to compare the differences and study the relationships. The results were: (1) Asian international students' mental health was not different nor seemed more severe than American students and other international students, but their self-report of self-injury, suicidal ideation, and suicidal attempts were higher than those of American students and other international students; (2) gender, stress level, marital status, stressors related to personal were significant predictors of their mental health; (3) Asian international students sought less mental health services and were less willing to seek those services than American students and other international students; (4) help-seeking intentions partially mediated the relationship between Asian international students' mental health and their help-seeking behavior; and (5) t (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Pillay Yegan (Advisor); Christina Bhat (Committee Member); Lijing Yang (Committee Member); Ginger Weade (Committee Member); Nicholas Allen (Committee Member) Subjects: Counseling Education

Psy. D., Antioch University, 2018, Antioch New England: Clinical Psychology

Mental illness (MI) is a major problem in the United States, with significant economic, emotional, and physical impacts on individuals with MI, their loved ones, and their employers. Many of those who could benefit from treatment do not seek it out, despite the researched benefits of mental health care. The self-stigma (SS) associated with MI is a well-documented obstacle to help-seeking behavior. Mental health professionals have tried, with mixed results, to combat SS and encourage help-seeking. Individuals with MI have found and supported one another, forming a community and successfully advocating for reforms to the mental health system. Contemporary peer support organizations, while continuing to advocate for change on a systemic level, additionally focus on encouraging health and help-seeking behavior for those living with MI. The Mental Illness Happy Hour (MIHH) podcast is a weekly audio interview, freely available via the internet, in which the host and a guest discuss firsthand experiences of living with MI, the legacies of trauma and substance abuse, and experiences in treatment. The aim of this study was to determine if any relationship could be identified between listening behavior and change in attitudes relative to the presence and treatment of MI. The Impact of Listening Behavior (ILB) scale, a brief self-report measure, was developed for the study. Results show that respondents feel their attitudes towards the presence and treatment of MI have improved relative to their listening behavior. Small but significant inverse correlations were found between the Duration of Listening (DL) and several ILB items, suggesting a relationship between listening and improved attitudes among a self-selecting sample of MIHH listeners.

Committee: James Fauth PhD (Committee Chair); Lorraine Mangione PhD (Committee Member); Cynthia Whitaker PsyD (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1997, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Religion

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1987, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1986, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Psychology

Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.), Xavier University, 2011, Psychology

The purpose of this study was to examine if barriers to professional help-seeking in college students who reported having engaged in intentional self-injury (ISI) differed from college students who endorsed psychological distress but had not engaged in ISI. Participants were 452 undergraduate students at a mid-sized, private Catholic university. It was hypothesized that students who had engaged in ISI would endorse lower emotional self-disclosure, more use of experiential avoidance and lower feelings of self-compassion than those who endorsed psychological distress but had not engaged in ISI. In turn, each of the three variables was hypothesized to be related to less professional help-seeking. Psychological distress, ISI, help-seeking and the three variables were measured through self-report on several scales. Results showed that engaging in ISI was not significantly predictive of professional help-seeking. However, linear and logistic regression analysis showed that persons who engaged in ISI were significantly less likely to share emotions with others and endorsed significantly less self-compassion than those who endorsed psychological distress but had not engaged in ISI. Contrary to the hypothesis, results also showed that persons who endorsed more experiential avoidance had sought help more often than those who endorsed less experiential avoidance. The implications of the current findings, as well as suggestions for future research, are discussed.

Committee: Nicholas L. Salsman Ph.D., ABPP (Committee Chair); Christine M. Dacey Ph.D., ABPP (Committee Member); W. Michael Nelson III Ph.D., ABPP (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2009, Psychology (Arts and Sciences)

This study examined the effects of a mass-media, public service announcement (PSA) style video intervention that was developed for this study. Prior research findings on expectations, attitudes and intentions towards seeking mental health services were applied to the design of the intervention. A total of 228 participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: (1.) the media-exposed intervention group, who watched programming in which the video intervention was inserted, and (2.) a control group, who watched the same programming without the video intervention. Results indicated that the intervention was effective at increasing both positive attitudes towards therapy and intentions to seek therapy. The overall positive effect of the media intervention on intentions was primarily for seeking help for interpersonal problems (and not for academic or substance abuse problems). However, the media intervention was no different from the control group on measures of the belief-based factors that, in theory, should change prior to changes in attitudes and the actual intentions to seek. Implications of these findings for future research are discussed.

Committee: Timothy Anderson Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Benjamin Ogles Ph.D. (Committee Member); Keith Markman Ph.D. (Committee Member); John Garske Ph.D. (Committee Member); Eric Williams (Committee Member) Subjects: Health Care; Health Education; Psychotherapy; Public Health

PHD, Kent State University, 2006, College of Education, Health, and Human Services / Department of Adult, Counseling, Health and Vocational Education

The purpose in conducting this research was to examine the acculturation of separated Macedonian immigrants in the United States, attitudes towards mental health services, and perceptions about seeking help. The participants in the study were 6 Macedonian male, immigrants between the ages of 45 and 65. The results of study demonstrated that these participants had preserved their culture, maintained a strong Macedonian ethnic identity, and felt a sense of accomplishment and success. The results suggested that the participants were reluctant to seek out mental health services from mental health professionals. They preferred to seek out help from God, family, close friends, or a medical doctor. The act of seeking help was perceived as monetary, physical, and short term. These results have implications for both counselor educators and counseling practitioners.

Committee: Marty Jencius (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Guidance and Counseling