IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2020i19p7128-d421466.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Reluctancy towards Help-Seeking for Mental Health Concerns at Secondary School among Students in the COMPASS Study

Author

Listed:
  • Natalie Doan

    (School of Public Health and Health Systems, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada)

  • Karen A. Patte

    (Department of Health Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1, Canada)

  • Mark A. Ferro

    (School of Public Health and Health Systems, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada)

  • Scott T. Leatherdale

    (School of Public Health and Health Systems, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada)

Abstract

Youth populations represent a key population for addressing mental health, yet many youths express reluctance towards help seeking. Considering the volume of time that almost all youth spend at school during the school year, it is important to assess the role of the school environment in relation to students’ attitudes toward help-seeking. Data from 47,290 grade 9 to 12 students and 116 Canadian secondary schools that participated in the 2018-19 wave of the COMPASS (Cannabis, Obesity, Mental health, Physical activity, Alcohol, Smoking, Sedentary behaviour) study were analyzed using GEE models to assess the student and school characteristics associated with attitudes regarding seeking help for mental health concerns from an adult at school. Overall, 58% of students reported being reluctant to seek help for mental health concerns at school. Students who reported lower self-rated mental health (aOR = 1.76, 95% CI = 1.65, 1.87), emotion regulation (aOR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.07, 1.09), family support (aOR = 2.31, 95% CI = 2.16, 2.47), peer support (aOR = 1.20, 95% CI = 1.13, 1.31), and school connectedness (aOR = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.92, 0.93) scores were more likely to be reluctant towards help-seeking at school than students with more favourable scores on these variables. Students with higher flourishing scores were less likely than students who were languishing to report reluctance to help-seeking at school (aOR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.96, 0.97). Students attending schools in areas with lower population densities and median household incomes between $50,000–75,000 were less likely to be reluctant to help-seeking relative to students attending schools in areas with higher density (aOR = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.79, 0.93) and median household incomes (aOR = 1.20, 95% CI = 1.13, 1.31), respectively. The availability of school mental health services and specialists were not associated with student help-seeking reluctance. High levels of resistance towards help-seeking among youth remain a significant barrier, particularly among youth at highest risk (i.e., with lower support and poorer mental health). The student and school characteristics identified in the current study can help inform strategies to promote greater acceptance of help seeking among students in schools.

Suggested Citation

  • Natalie Doan & Karen A. Patte & Mark A. Ferro & Scott T. Leatherdale, 2020. "Reluctancy towards Help-Seeking for Mental Health Concerns at Secondary School among Students in the COMPASS Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-19, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:19:p:7128-:d:421466
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/19/7128/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/19/7128/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sherbourne, Cathy Donald, 1988. "The role of social support and life stress events in use of mental health services," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 27(12), pages 1393-1400, January.
    2. Clare A. O'Connor & Judith Dyson & Fiona Cowdell & Roger Watson, 2018. "Do universal school‐based mental health promotion programmes improve the mental health and emotional wellbeing of young people? A literature review," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(3-4), pages 412-426, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Raquel Pérez-Ordás & Javier Piñeiro-Cossio & Óscar Díaz-Chica & Ester Ayllón-Negrillo, 2022. "Relevant Variables in the Stimulation of Psychological Well-Being in Physical Education: A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-26, July.
    2. Aneela YASEEN, 2017. "Inclusive Aspects of Urban Design: Sociability, Walkability and Overall Ambiance," Chinese Journal of Urban and Environmental Studies (CJUES), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 5(01), pages 1-17, March.
    3. Camilla Thørring Bonnesen & Lau Caspar Thygesen & Naja Hulvej Rod & Mette Toftager & Katrine Rich Madsen & Marie Pil Jensen & Johanne Aviaja Rosing & Stine Kjær Wehner & Pernille Due & Rikke Fredenslu, 2023. "Preventing Stress among High School Students in Denmark through the Multicomponent Healthy High School Intervention—The Effectiveness at First Follow-Up," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-16, January.
    4. Maya Albert & Thomas Becker & Paul Mccrone & Graham Thornicroft, 1998. "Social Networks and Mental Health Service Utilisation - a Literature Review," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 44(4), pages 248-266, December.
    5. Javier Ortuño-Sierra & Rebeca Aritio-Solana & Eduardo Fonseca-Pedrero, 2020. "New Evidences about Subjective Well-Being in Adolescence and Its Links with Neurocognitive Performance," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(6), pages 1-11, March.
    6. Dong, Gang Nathan, 2016. "Social capital as correlate, antecedent, and consequence of health service demand in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 85-96.
    7. Laura M. Guerrero-Puerta & Miguel A. Guerrero, 2023. "Exploring the Relationship between Early Leaving of Education and Training and Mental Health among Youth in Spain," Societies, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-19, April.
    8. Jesús Fernández-Gavira & Santiago Castro-Donado & Daniel Medina-Rebollo & M. Rocío Bohórquez, 2021. "Development of Emotional Competencies as a Teaching Innovation for Higher Education Students of Physical Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-20, December.
    9. Christophe Huỳnh & Jean Caron & Marie-Josée Fleury, 2016. "Mental health services use among adults with or without mental disorders: Do development stages matter?," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 62(5), pages 434-451, August.
    10. Laura Guerrero-Puerta & Miguel. A Guerrero, 2021. "Could Gamification Be a Protective Factor Regarding Early School Leaving? A Life Story," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-19, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:19:p:7128-:d:421466. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.