Factors Predicting Intention Among Nursing Students to Seek Professional Psychological Help
Keywords:
Theory of planned behavior, Professional psychological help, Nursing studentsAbstract
Nursing students are a high risk group for mental health problems; however they rarely seek professional psychological help. The purpose of this descriptive, cross-sectional study was to examine factors predicting nursing students’ intention to seek professional psychological help by using the Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior as a framework. The participants were 343 students from a faculty of nursing in Thailand who were screened for psychological distress. Participants were asked to complete self-reported questionnaires, including a demographic data questionnaire, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, and the Professional Psychological Help-Seeking Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression.
The findings showed that three independent variables, attitudes toward behavior, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control that accounted for 16.3% of variance in the participants’ intention to seek professional help. Attitudes toward behavior and subjective norm can significantly predict the intention to seek professional psychological help, but the other did not. In addition, behavioral beliefs, normative beliefs, and control beliefs could predict attitudes toward behaviors, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control, respectively.The findings underscore the importance of working closely with counseling services and the professions in order to ensure nursing students’ access to needed support, to increase positive attitudes toward the help-seeking behavior of nursing students and their significant groups, and create cultures of seeking such help across nursing campuses.
References
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31. Bohon LM, Cotter KA, Kravitz RL, Cello PC, Garcia EF. The theory of planned behavior as it predicts potential intention to seek mental health services for depression among college students. J Am Coll Health. 2016; 64(8): 593-603.
32. Pumpuang W, Seeherunwong A, Vongsirimas N. Developing and testing of an instrument assessing factors related to professional psychological help seeking behavior of nursing students. J Nurs Sci. 2015; 33(4):86-102. [In Thai].
33. Plichta SB, Kelvin E. Munro’s statistical methods for healthcare research (6th ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2013.
34. Psychological Foundation of Australia. DASS translations: Thai translations of the DASS. [Updated 2007 May 23, cited 2013 May 12]. Available from https://www2.psy. unsw.edu.au/dass/transaltions.htm.
35. Ajzen I. Constructing a theory of planned behavior questionnaire. University of Massachusetts at Amherst. [Updated 2002 May 29, cited 2013 May 12]; Available from https:// people.umass.edu/aizen/tpb.html.
36. Li W. University students’ mental health help-seeking: intention and service use. [Doctoral dissertation]: University of Adelaide. 2016.
37. Thomas SJ, Caputi P, Wilson CJ. Specific Attitudes Which Predict Psychology Students’ Intentions to Seek Help for Psychological Distress. J Clin Psychol. 2014; 70(3): 273–82.
38. Hui AKY, Wong PWC, Fu KW. Building a model for encouraging help-seeking for depression: a qualitative study in a Chinese society. BMC Psychol 2014; 2(9): 1-12.
39. Lee AMS. Understanding the help-seeking process among second generation Chinese Canadians using the theory of planned behavior: what is the role of culture? [Doctoral
dissertation]: University of Ottawa; 2016.
40. Barua P. The moderating role of perceived behavioral control: the literature criticism and methodological considerations. IJBSS. 2013; 4(10):57-59.
2. Pedrelli P, Nyer M, Yeung A, Zulauf C, Wilens T. College students: mental health problems and treatment considerations. Acad Psychiatry. 2015; 39(5):503-11.
3. Younas A. Levels of stress and coping strategies used by nursing students in Asian countries: an integrated literature review. J Middle East North Afr Sci. 2016; 2(4):50-57.
4. Shudifat RM, Al-Husban RY. Perceived sources of stress among first-year nursing students in Jordan. J Psychosoc Nurs Ment Health Serv. 2015; 53(6):37-43.
5. Alzayyat A, Al-Gamal E. A review of the literature regarding stress among nursing students during their clinical education. Int Nurs Rev. 2014; 61(3):406-15.
6. Risal A, Saniel S, Sharma PP. Study of depression among the nursing students in a university medical college of Nepal. Kathmandu Univ Med J (KUMJ). 2016; 14(55):264-268.
7. Wedgeworth M. Anxiety and education: an examination of anxiety across a nursing program. J Nurs Educ Pract. 2016; 6(10):23-32.
8. Cheung T, Wong SY, Wong KY, Law LY, Ng K, Tong MT, et al. Depression, anxiety, and symptoms of stress among baccalaureate nursing students in Hong Kong: a cross-sectional study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2016; 13(8):779.
9. Rukkhajeekul S. Depression and Suicidal behaviors among Naresuan university students. J Psychiatr Assoc Thailand. 2013; 58(4):359-370.
10. Larcombe W, Finch S, Sore R, Murray CM, Kentish S, Mulder R. et al. Prevalence and socio-demographic correlates of psychological distress among students at an Australian University. Stud High Educ. 2016; 41(6):1074-1091.
11. Eisenberg D, Hunt J, Speer N. Help seeking for mental health on college campuses: review of evidence and next steps for research and practice. Harv Rev Psychiatry. 2012; 20(4):222-32.
12. Bernhardsdottir J, Vilhjalmsson R. Psychological distress among university female students and their need for mental health services. J Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs. 2013; 20(8):672-8.
13. Aldiabat KM, Matani NA, Navenec CL. Mental health among undergraduate university students: a background paper for administrators, educators and healthcare providers. Univers J Public Health. 2014; 2(8):209-14.
14. Deasy C, Coughlan B, Pironom J, Jourdan D, Mannix- McNamara P. Psychological distress and coping amongst higher education students: a mixed method enquiry. PLOS ONE. 2014; 9(12):e115193.
15. Williams KT. An exploratory study: reducing nursing students stress levels facilitate perceived quality of patient care. Open J Nurs. 2014; 4:512-9.
16. Hagen N, Russell AP. Student suicides: a tragic silent issue and potential solutions. Sci Insigt. 2016; 2016:e00257.
17. Kumcagiz H. Psychological help-seeking attitudes of helping professional candidates and factors influencing them. Educ Res Rev. 2013; 8(16):1375-1382.
18. Heath PJ, Vogel DL, Al-Darmaki FR. Help-seeking attitudes of United Arab Emirates students: examining loss of face, stigma, and self-disclosure. Couns Psychol. 2016; 44(3): 331-52.
19. Salaheddin K, Mason B. Identifying barriers to mental health help-seeking among young adults in the UK: a cross sectional survey. Br J Gen Pract. 2016; 66(651):e686-92.
20. Winter RI, Patel R, Norman RI. A qualitative exploration of the help-seeking behaviors of students who experience psychological distress around assessment at medical school. Acad Psychiatry. 2017; 41(4):477-85.
21. Galbraith ND, Brown KE, Clifton E. A survey of student nurses’ attitudes toward help seeking for stress. Nurs Forum. 2014; 49(3):171-81.
22. Cankaya P, Duman ZC. Evaluation of nursing students’ attitudes towards seeking psychological help and factors affecting their attitudes. Nurse Educ Today. 2010; 30(8): 784-88.
23. Ajzan I.The theory of planned behavior. In: Lange PAM. Kruglanski AW. Higgins ET. Handbook of theories of social psychology. London: Sage; 2012, pp 438-459.
24. Fishbein M, Ajzen I. Predicting and changing behavior: the reasoned action approach. New York: Psychology Press, Taylor & Francis Group; 2010.
25. McEachan RRC, Conner M, Taylor NJ, Lawton RJ. Prospective prediction of health-related behaviors with the theory of planned behavior: a meta-analysis. Health Psychol Rev. 2011; 5(2):97-144.
26. Rickwood D, Thomas K. Conceptual measurement framework for help-seeking for mental health problems. Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2012; 5:173-83.
27. Mak HW, Davis JM. The application of the theory of planned behavior to help-seeking intention in a Chinese society. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2014; 49(9):1501-15.
28. Mesidor JK, Sly KF. Mental health help-seeking intentions among international and African American college students: an application of the theory of planned behavior. JIS. 2014; 4(2):137-49.
29. Rathbone J. Understanding psychological help-seeking behaviors: the application of the theory of planned behavior to medical professional in training. [Doctoral dissertation]: University of Leicester; 2014.
30. Russo DA, Stochl J, Painter M, Shelley GF, Jones PB, Perez J. Use of the theory of planned behavior to assess factors influencing the identification of students at clinical high-risk for psychosis in 16+education. BMC Health Serv Res. 2015; 15:411.
31. Bohon LM, Cotter KA, Kravitz RL, Cello PC, Garcia EF. The theory of planned behavior as it predicts potential intention to seek mental health services for depression among college students. J Am Coll Health. 2016; 64(8): 593-603.
32. Pumpuang W, Seeherunwong A, Vongsirimas N. Developing and testing of an instrument assessing factors related to professional psychological help seeking behavior of nursing students. J Nurs Sci. 2015; 33(4):86-102. [In Thai].
33. Plichta SB, Kelvin E. Munro’s statistical methods for healthcare research (6th ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2013.
34. Psychological Foundation of Australia. DASS translations: Thai translations of the DASS. [Updated 2007 May 23, cited 2013 May 12]. Available from https://www2.psy. unsw.edu.au/dass/transaltions.htm.
35. Ajzen I. Constructing a theory of planned behavior questionnaire. University of Massachusetts at Amherst. [Updated 2002 May 29, cited 2013 May 12]; Available from https:// people.umass.edu/aizen/tpb.html.
36. Li W. University students’ mental health help-seeking: intention and service use. [Doctoral dissertation]: University of Adelaide. 2016.
37. Thomas SJ, Caputi P, Wilson CJ. Specific Attitudes Which Predict Psychology Students’ Intentions to Seek Help for Psychological Distress. J Clin Psychol. 2014; 70(3): 273–82.
38. Hui AKY, Wong PWC, Fu KW. Building a model for encouraging help-seeking for depression: a qualitative study in a Chinese society. BMC Psychol 2014; 2(9): 1-12.
39. Lee AMS. Understanding the help-seeking process among second generation Chinese Canadians using the theory of planned behavior: what is the role of culture? [Doctoral
dissertation]: University of Ottawa; 2016.
40. Barua P. The moderating role of perceived behavioral control: the literature criticism and methodological considerations. IJBSS. 2013; 4(10):57-59.
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Published
2018-07-01
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Pumpuang W, Seeherunwong A, Vongsirimas N. Factors Predicting Intention Among Nursing Students to Seek Professional Psychological Help. PRIJNR [Internet]. 2018 Jul. 1 [cited 2024 Apr. 20];22(3):200-11. Available from: https://he02.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/PRIJNR/article/view/89827
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