Assessing attitudes toward seeking psychological professional help among adolescents: the roles of demographics and self-esteem
Abstract Background Various factors associated with attitudes toward the utilization of professional psychological help among the school-going population have been explored, but studies from Arabian Gulf countries are lacking. This study aimed to assess attitudes toward seeking professional psycholo...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2024-12-01
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| Series: | BMC Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-024-02294-4 |
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| Summary: | Abstract Background Various factors associated with attitudes toward the utilization of professional psychological help among the school-going population have been explored, but studies from Arabian Gulf countries are lacking. This study aimed to assess attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help, examine how demographic factors and self-esteem are associated with seeking psychological help, and understand the interaction between these variables. Methods A cross-sectional correlational design was used. A random sample of Omani secondary school students (n = 2165) aged 15–18 years completed the demographics sheet, the Scale of Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help (SATSPH), and the Rosenberg self-esteem scale. Hierarchical regression analysis with interaction was performed to test the moderating role of self-esteem in the relationship between selected demographics and attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help (ATSPH). Results Most of the adolescents exhibited poor attitudes toward ATSPH. The findings demonstrated a significant moderating effect of self-esteem on the relationship between demographics (sex and age) and ATSPH (ΔR 2 = 0.002, F (7, 2156) = 4.839, p < 0.001). In terms of sex, women may have more positive attitudes toward seeking help than men. However, when self-esteem is considered, the positive effect of being female can reverse at higher levels of self-esteem, suggesting that men with higher self-esteem may have more positive attitudes toward seeking help than women with higher self-esteem. Furthermore, initially, age was not significant. However, when self-esteem was introduced as a moderator, age was a significant predictor. These findings indicate that the effect of age on seeking professional psychological help is influenced by self-esteem. Conclusions This study highlights that attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help among Omani adolescents are generally poor and are influenced by both demographic factors and self-esteem. Although women tend to have more positive attitudes than men do, this can change with varying levels of self-esteem. Similarly, the effect of age on these attitudes is dependent on self-esteem levels. This underscores the complex interplay between demographic factors and self-esteem in shaping attitudes toward psychological help-seeking behaviors. Therefore, more studies of this nature are warranted. |
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| ISSN: | 2050-7283 |