Cultural Differences in Professional Help Seeking: A Comparison of Japan and the U.S.

Abstract

Previous research has found cultural differences in the frequency of support seeking. Asians and Asian Americans report seeking support from their close others to deal with their stress less often compared to European Americans. Similarly, other research on professional help seeking has shown that Asians and Asian Americans are less likely than European Americans to seek professional psychological help. Previous studies link this difference to multitude of factors, such as cultural stigma and reliance on informal social networks. The present research examined another explanation for cultural differences in professional help seeking. We predicted that the observed cultural difference in professional help seeking is an extension of culture-specific interpersonal relationship patterns. In the present research, undergraduate students in Japan and the United States completed the Inventory of Attitudes toward Seeking Mental Health Services, which measures professional help seeking propensity, psychological openness to acknowledging psychological problems, and indifference to the stigma of seeking professional help. The results showed that Japanese reported greater reluctance to seek professional help compared to Americans. Moreover, the relationship between culture and professional help seeking attitudes was partially mediated by use of social support seeking among close others. The implications of cultural differences in professional help seeking and the relationship between support seeking and professional help seeking are discussed.

Investigating institutional abuse survivors’ help-seeking attitudes with the Inventory of Attitudes towards Seeking Mental Health Services

“…IASMHS has been used to investigate attitudes in college students (Mackenzie et al, 2004; Mojaverian, Hashimoto, & Kim, 2012; Wahto & Swift, 2016; Yousaf, Popat, & Hunter, 2015), adolescents (Munson, Floersch, & Townsend, 2010), older adults (Kessler, Agines, & Bowen, 2014), psychotherapy clients (Elkins, Swift, & Campbell, 2016), and specific ethnic groups: Alaska natives (Freitas-Murrell & Swift, 2015), South Asians (Loya, Reddy, & Hinshaw, 2010), Chinese immigrants (Tieu & Konnert, 2014), and African Americans (Ward et al, 2013; Watson & Hunter, 2015). Only a few studies screened for mental disorders (Mackenzie et al, 2006; Mesidor & Sly, 2014; Munson et al, 2010; Troeung, Gasson, & Egan, 2015; Ward et al, 2013; Watson & Hunter, 2015) and intentions to (or actual) mental health service use (Freitas-Murrell & Swift, 2015; James & Buttle, 2008; Martin & Howe, 2016; Tieu & Konnert, 2014).…”

A test of the inventory of attitudes towards seeking mental health services

“…This scale was developed based upon Fisher and Turner's (1970) Attitudes toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale. Despite being developed upon a clear theoretical foundation, and its increasing use in research (James & Buttle, 2008;Loya, Reddy, & Hinshaw, 2010;Mackenzie, Gekoski, & Knox, 2006;Mojaverian, Hashimoto, & Kim, 2012;Floersch et al, 2009), only one study has sought to further explore the underlying factor structure of the IASMHS.…”

Características psicométricas do Inventário de Atitudes face à Procura de Serviços de Saúde Mental: Estudo em mulheres no período perinatal

“…No entanto, a dimensão Abertura Psicológica apresenta uma consistência interna inferior ao desejável (DeVellis, 2011), resultado que não tinha sido verificado noutros estudos com o IAPSSM (Mackenzie et al, 2004;Mojaverian et al, 2013). Os valores da correlação item-total corrigida para essa dimensão são também mais baixos, por comparação aos valores encontrados para as outras dimensões, sugerindo a necessidade de, em estudos futuros, investigar melhor as razões para a baixa consistência interna desta dimensão.…”