Background
Mental illness rates among young people is high, yet the frequency of help-seeking is low, especially among those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Understanding factors influencing help-seeking, such as mental illness beliefs, stigma and literacy among B40 individuals is important, but past studies are sparse. Hence, we aimed to examine the factors associated with mental help-seeking attitude among students from the B40 income bracket. Differences in beliefs toward mental illness, stigma and help-seeking attitudes among university and secondary school students were also investigated.
Methods
University and secondary school students from low-income households (
N
= 202) were involved in this cross-sectional study. Participants completed the Depression Literacy Questionnaire (D-Lit), General Help Seeking Questionnaire (GHSQ), Mental Help Seeking Attitudes Scale (MHSAS), Self-Stigma of Seeking Help Scale (SSOSH), and Beliefs toward Mental Illness (BMI).
Results
Mental help-seeking attitude had a significant relationship with self-stigma on seeking help (r = −.258,
p
< .001), general help-seeking attitude (r = .156,
p
= .027), and age (r = .187,
p
< .001). However, the strongest predictor for mental help-seeking attitude was self-stigma on seeking help (F (2,199) = 8.207,
p
< .001 with R
2
of .076). University students had better depression literacy and lower levels of self-stigma and negative beliefs toward mental illness compared to secondary school students.
Conclusion
Higher self-stigma and younger age were associated with negative mental help-seeking attitudes among students from low-income households. As self-stigma may be a barrier to actual mental help-seeking, efforts to reduce self-stigma in this population need to be intensified.
Background There has been mixed findings on whether a healthcare workers’ religious beliefs contribute positively or negatively to their attitudes towards suicidal patients. Aims This study aims to explore qualitatively the influence of religious/spiritual beliefs on healthcare workers’ attitudes towards suicide and suicidal patients in the culturally heterogeneous Malaysian population. Methods Thirty-one healthcare workers from diverse religious backgrounds, professions and medical disciplines were interviewed. Thematic analysis revealed the centrality of religion in determining healthcare workers’ acceptability of suicide, specific religious beliefs that influenced their views on the right-to-die issue, perceptions of the suicidal patient’s religiousness/spirituality, and the aspects and extent of religious relevance in professional philosophy and practice. Results Healthcare workers who could perceive the multifactorial nature of suicide causation had a more empathetic response. There were high levels of paternalism in the care of suicidal patients, involving unsolicited religious/spiritual advice practised as a form of suicide deterrent and social support. Conclusions The formal integration of religious/spiritual practices into the professional care of suicidal patients was indicated.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.