The aim of this study was to find out if psychotherapists could improve help seeking behavior. The research instruments used were validated and standardized instruments, namely, the General Help Seeking Questionnaire-Vignette (GHSQ-V) and the Actual Help Seeking Questionnaire (AHSQ). These instruments were used to measure the participants’ general help seeking intentions and actual help seeking behavior respectively. A demographic questionnaire was also used to determine the demographic variables of the participants. The population for this research was students who had been enrolled in Accra Polytechnic, in the Republic of Ghana. A repeated measures design was used to evaluate an invention procedure involving the use of psychotherapeutic strategies to improve help seeking intentions and behavior. It was hypothesized that participants will have an increase in their help seeking intentions and report more help seeking behavior after the intervention. The study’s hypotheses were analyzed with the Wilcoxon Matched-Pairs Singed-Rank (T) Test with the aid of the version 17 of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS V 17). The results indicated that psychotherapists could improve help seeking behavior. The limitations and implications of the study are then discussed. Areas for further research are also recommended.
| Published in | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences (Volume 4, Issue 2) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.pbs.20150402.15 |
| Page(s) | 64-70 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Help Seeking, Accra Polytechnic, Interventions, Repeated Measures Design, Psychotherapy, Psychotherapists, Case study, behavior
| [1] | Appiah-Poku, J., Laugharne, R., Mensah, E., Osei. Y. and Burns, T. (2004). Previous help sought by patients presenting to mental health services in Kumasi, Ghana. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, (39) 3. 208-211. |
| [2] | Auglin, D. M., Alberti P. M., Link, B. G. & Phelan, J. C. (2008). Racial differences in beliefs about the effectiveness and necessity of mental health treatment. American Journal of Community Psychology. 42(1-2):17-24. |
| [3] | Barker, G. (2007). Adolescents’ social support and help seeking behavior. World Health Organization (WHO). |
| [4] | Boyraz, G., Horne, S., Owens, A. & Armstrong, A. (2013). Academic achievement and college persistence of African American students with trauma exposure. Journal of Counseling Psychology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1037Counseling |
| [5] | Britten, N. (1998). Psychiatry, stigma, and resistance: psychiatrists need to concentrate on understanding. Not simply compliance. British Medical Journal 317. 763-764. |
| [6] | Cornally, N. & McCarthy, G. (2011). Help-seeking behavior: A concept analysis. International Journal of Nursing Practice. 17: 280–288 |
| [7] | Garcia, M., & Rodriguez, P. F. (1989). Psychological effects of political repression in Argentina & El Salvador. In D. Koslow & E. Salett (Eds.), Crossing Cultures in Mental Health (pp. 64–83). Washington, DC: SIETAR International. |
| [8] | Gulliver, A., Griffiths, K. M. Christensen, H. B. & Brewer, J. L. (2012). A systematic review of help-seeking interventions for depression, anxiety and general psychological distress. Bio-med Central Psychiatry, 2012, 12:81 |
| [9] | Gulliver, A., Griffiths, K. M. & Christensen, H. B. (2010). Perceived barriers and facilitators to mental health help seeking in young people: a systematic review. Bio-med Central Psychiatry, 2010, 10:113 |
| [10] | Howerton, A., Byng, R., Campbell, J., Hess, D., Owens, C. & Aitken, P. (2007). Understanding help seeking behavior among male offenders: Qualitative interview study. British Medical Journal, 334 (7588). |
| [11] | Kessler, R. C., Brown, R. L. & Broman, C. L. (1981). Sex differences in psychiatric help-seeking: evidence from four large-scale surveys. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 22(1), 49-64. |
| [12] | Kwong, K. (2011). Increasing access to mental health services and assessing help seeking behavior of depressed Chinese-American patients in primary care – A Feasibility Pilot Study. Society for Social Work and Research. |
| [13] | Mackenzie C. S., Pagura J. & Sareen J. (2010). Correlates of perceived need for and use of mental health services by older adults in the collaborative psychiatric epidemiology surveys. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 18(12), 1103-15. |
| [14] | Miranda, J. & Green, B. L. (1999). The need for mental health services research focusing on poor young women. The Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics, 2, 73-80. |
| [15] | Moloczij, N. McPherson K. M., smith J. F. & Kayes N. M. (2008). Help seeking at the time of stroke: Stroke survivor’s perspective on their decisions. Health and Social Care in the Community, 16, 501-510. |
| [16] | Nelson-Le Gall, S. (1985). Help-seeking behavior in learning. In E. W. Gordon (Ed.), Review of Research in Education (Vol. 12, pp. 55-90). Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association. |
| [17] | Ofori-Atta, A., Cooper, S., Akpalu, B., Osei, A., Doku, V., Lund, C. and the Mhapp research Program Consortium (2010). Common understandings of women’s mental illness in Ghana: Results from a qualitative study, International Review of Psychiatry. (22) 6: 589-98. |
| [18] | Opoku, J. Y. (2006). Tutorials in inferential social statistics (2nd Ed.). Accra: Ghana Universities Press. |
| [19] | Pattenden, J., Watt, I., Lewin, R. J. P. & Standord, N., (2002). Decision making process in people with symptoms of acute myocardial infarction: Qualitative study. British Medical Journal, 324, 1-5. |
| [20] | Read, U. & Doku, V. C. K. (2012). Mental health research in Ghana: A literature review. Ghana Medical Journal, 46 (SO), 29-38. |
| [21] | Rickwood, D. J. & Braithwaite, V. A. (1994). Social-psychological factors affecting seeking help for emotional problems. Social Science and Medicine, 39, 563–572. |
| [22] | Santor, D. A., Poulin, C., LeBlanc, J. C. & Kusumakar, V. (2006). Facilitating help seeking behavior and referrals for mental health difficulties in school aged boys and girls: A school-based intervention. Journal of Youth Adolescence. 39, 729-735. |
| [23] | Schreiber, V., Maercker, A., & Renneberg, B. (2010). Social influences on mental health help seeking after interpersonal dramatization: A qualitative analysis. BMC Public Health, 10, 634-642. |
| [24] | Turner, J., Midgley, C., Meyer, D. K., Gheen, M., Anderman, E. M., Kang, Y. & Patrick, H. (2002). The classroom environment and students’ reports of avoidance strategies in mathematics: A multi-method study. Journal of Educational Psychology, 94, 88-106. |
| [25] | Wang, P. S., Berglund, P. A., Kessler, R. C., Olfson, M., Pincus, H. A. & Wells, K. B. (2005). Failure and delay in initial treatment contact after first onset of mental disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R). Archives of General Psychiatry, 62(6), 603-613. |
| [26] | Wilson, C. J., Deane, F. P., Ciarrochi, J. V. & Rickwood, D. (2005). Measuring help-seeking intentions: Properties of the General Help-seeking Questionnaire. Canadian Journal of Counselling, 39, 15-28. |
APA Style
Evelyn Ekua Bentil. (2015). Can Psychotherapists Improve Help Seeking Behavior: A Case Study of Accra Polytechnic Students. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, 4(2), 64-70. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20150402.15
ACS Style
Evelyn Ekua Bentil. Can Psychotherapists Improve Help Seeking Behavior: A Case Study of Accra Polytechnic Students. Psychol. Behav. Sci. 2015, 4(2), 64-70. doi: 10.11648/j.pbs.20150402.15
AMA Style
Evelyn Ekua Bentil. Can Psychotherapists Improve Help Seeking Behavior: A Case Study of Accra Polytechnic Students. Psychol Behav Sci. 2015;4(2):64-70. doi: 10.11648/j.pbs.20150402.15
Share This Article
Twitter
Linked In
Facebook
Copy
Download@article{10.11648/j.pbs.20150402.15,
author = {Evelyn Ekua Bentil},
title = {Can Psychotherapists Improve Help Seeking Behavior: A Case Study of Accra Polytechnic Students},
journal = {Psychology and Behavioral Sciences},
volume = {4},
number = {2},
pages = {64-70},
doi = {10.11648/j.pbs.20150402.15},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20150402.15},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.pbs.20150402.15},
abstract = {The aim of this study was to find out if psychotherapists could improve help seeking behavior. The research instruments used were validated and standardized instruments, namely, the General Help Seeking Questionnaire-Vignette (GHSQ-V) and the Actual Help Seeking Questionnaire (AHSQ). These instruments were used to measure the participants’ general help seeking intentions and actual help seeking behavior respectively. A demographic questionnaire was also used to determine the demographic variables of the participants. The population for this research was students who had been enrolled in Accra Polytechnic, in the Republic of Ghana. A repeated measures design was used to evaluate an invention procedure involving the use of psychotherapeutic strategies to improve help seeking intentions and behavior. It was hypothesized that participants will have an increase in their help seeking intentions and report more help seeking behavior after the intervention. The study’s hypotheses were analyzed with the Wilcoxon Matched-Pairs Singed-Rank (T) Test with the aid of the version 17 of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS V 17). The results indicated that psychotherapists could improve help seeking behavior. The limitations and implications of the study are then discussed. Areas for further research are also recommended.},
year = {2015}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Can Psychotherapists Improve Help Seeking Behavior: A Case Study of Accra Polytechnic Students AU - Evelyn Ekua Bentil Y1 - 2015/03/13 PY - 2015 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20150402.15 DO - 10.11648/j.pbs.20150402.15 T2 - Psychology and Behavioral Sciences JF - Psychology and Behavioral Sciences JO - Psychology and Behavioral Sciences SP - 64 EP - 70 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2328-7845 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20150402.15 AB - The aim of this study was to find out if psychotherapists could improve help seeking behavior. The research instruments used were validated and standardized instruments, namely, the General Help Seeking Questionnaire-Vignette (GHSQ-V) and the Actual Help Seeking Questionnaire (AHSQ). These instruments were used to measure the participants’ general help seeking intentions and actual help seeking behavior respectively. A demographic questionnaire was also used to determine the demographic variables of the participants. The population for this research was students who had been enrolled in Accra Polytechnic, in the Republic of Ghana. A repeated measures design was used to evaluate an invention procedure involving the use of psychotherapeutic strategies to improve help seeking intentions and behavior. It was hypothesized that participants will have an increase in their help seeking intentions and report more help seeking behavior after the intervention. The study’s hypotheses were analyzed with the Wilcoxon Matched-Pairs Singed-Rank (T) Test with the aid of the version 17 of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS V 17). The results indicated that psychotherapists could improve help seeking behavior. The limitations and implications of the study are then discussed. Areas for further research are also recommended. VL - 4 IS - 2 ER -
Information
Email: