The Influence of Social Norms on Attitudes Toward Help Seeking Behavior of College Undergraduates at a Major Midwestern University

Research has shown that college student wellness is a priority among administrators and mental health professionals on college campuses. There is mounting concern surrounding the emerging mental health issues that plague college age individuals. Researchers have made effort to provide explanation for the gap in mental health treatment as many people with mental health issues do not receive treatment, specifically those in the college population. Many barriers to receiving services have been identified, but none have been considered to be as important as stigma. The perception of stigmatization of individuals who suffer from psychological problems deters them from seeking services. Research shows that peer attitudes and beliefs have tremendous influence over individual decision making. The issue of mental health is no exception. Social norms theory asserts that individuals often misperceive the attitudes and beliefs of their peers allowing these misperceptions to dictate individuals’ behaviors and thought process. In order to further investigate the impact of social norms on attitudes toward mental health help seeking among college students, the current study administered the Inventory of Attitudes Toward Seeking Mental Health Services to Ohio University college students; one time asking them to answer questions about themselves and one time asking them to answer based on their perception of their peers attitudes. The results were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA and revealed that college students perceived their peers to feel less favorably about mental health help seeking than they do. Investigation of the demographics showed that gender did impact that way that students answered questions, however, still students believed that they had a more favorable view of mental health help seeking than their peers. Data from this research serves to advance the application of social norms theory and shows the efficacy of applying this theory to the issue of mental health help seeking.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Counselor Education (Education)

Grantor dc:publisher

Ohio University

Year dc:date

2013

Author dc:creator

• Kerns, Courtney M.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Robinson, Mona

• Academic Guidance Counseling
• Behavioral Psychology
• Behavioral Sciences
• Counseling Psychology
• Counseling Education
• mental health
• mental health help-seeking, wellness, college students, counseling, social norms, social norms theory

Statement dc:rights

• unrestricted
• This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1365172443

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:ohiou1365172443