A Study of Adult Attitudes toward Online and Face-to-Face Counseling according to Self-Concealment, Multidimensional Perceived Social Support and Certain Demographic Variables during Covid 19 Pandemic

Abstract

With the COVID-19 pandemic, people have become inclined to seek online counseling help in addition to face-to-face counseling. For individuals who need mental health services, social-physical isolation and quarantine decisions have rendered online counseling a necessity rather than an option. In this process, individuals needing mental health services may avoid seeking help due to their self-concealment tendencies or inadequate self-perceived social support. The present research explores whether online and face-to-face counseling are predicted by self-concealment level, multidimensional perceived social support, age, gender, and previous experience with face-to-face/online counseling. The study group comprises 508 adults aged 18 or above living in Turkey. The data were collected with the help of "Online and Face-to-Face Counseling Attitudes Scale", “Self-Concealment Scale”, “Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support”, and a “Personal Information Form”. Data analysis was based on Pearson’s Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient and Multiple Regression Analysis. The results demonstrate that attitudes toward online counseling are predicted by self-concealment, perceived social support, age, and previous experience of online counseling. The findings also show that attitudes toward face-to-face counseling are predicted by self-concealment, perceived social support, gender, and previous experience with online and face-to-face counseling. With the COVID-19 pandemic, people have become inclined to seek online counseling help in addition to face-to-face counseling. For individuals who need mental health services, social-physical isolation and quarantine decisions have rendered online counseling a necessity rather than an option. In this process, individuals needing mental health services may avoid seeking help due to their self-concealment tendencies or inadequate self-perceived social support. The present research explores whether online and face-to-face counseling are predicted by self-concealment level, multidimensional perceived social support, age, gender, and previous experience with face-to-face/online counseling. The study group comprises 508 adults aged 18 or above living in Turkey. The data were collected with the help of "Online and Face-to-Face Counseling Attitudes Scale", “Self-Concealment Scale”, “Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support”, and a “Personal Information Form”. Data analysis was based on Pearson’s Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient and Multiple Regression Analysis. The results demonstrate that attitudes toward online counseling are predicted by self-concealment, perceived social support, age, and previous experience of online counseling. The findings also show that attitudes toward face-to-face counseling are predicted by self-concealment, perceived social support, gender, and previous experience with online and face-to-face counseling.

The Role of Mental Health Self-Stigma and Mindfulness in Youth Psychological Distress During Covid-19: A Study in Johor, Malaysia

“…In addition, the tendency for self-concealment, or the habit of concealing personal humiliating truths, it was found to correlate positively with multiple indicators of psychological distress among college students (Masuda et al, 2021). As selfconcealment is theorized to be an expression of the self-stigmatization process (Larson et al, 2015;Kara & Buyruk, 2023), this is particularly pertinent to the current discussion.…”