Abstract:
In the light of recent statistics demonstrating both a high incidence of mental illness among New Zealand youth, and a low rate of presentation for treatment, help-seeking behaviour has identified as an important area of concern in government and clinical publications. In keeping with this agenda, the present study used quantitative and qualitative techniques to examine the variables that predict helpseeking in a large sample of New Zealand youth (n=9107). Key areas of interest in this study included the role of social supports in facilitating formal help-seeking, the relationship between emotional symptoms and help-seeking, and the impact of negative experiences and beliefs related to service provision. Results of a logistic regression analysis revealed that students are more likely to seek help from formal sources if they are female, socioeconomically disadvantaged, depressed, facing more numerous problems, not part of a peer group, can identify a supportive and available adult outside of their family with whom they can talk, and have had difficulty accessing health services in the past. In addition, results from both the quantitative and qualitative studies confirm that when they seek formal help, New Zealand adolescents are most likely to approach school counsellors, and least likely to approach telephone counselling services. Exploring help-seeking behaviour in greater depth with a small sample of 16-17 year old students, the results of the qualitative study suggested that students may be reluctant to seek help from parents and internet-based services, and may hold ambivalent attitudes about the use of mental health services. Students’ decisions about who to approach for help appear to be shaped by beliefs about the experience level, willingness to help, accessibility, and confidentiality of a source, and by goals related to obtaining insight, emotional support, expert solutions and advice, and information.
