The objective of this study was to determine the attitudes towards professional psychological help seeking among young adults in Kenya. A self completed questionnaire made up of demographic characteristics and Attitudes towards Professional Psychological Help Seeking scale (ATPPHS) was used to collect data from 2777 young adults training in four selected public teacher training colleges. Unfavorable attitudes towards professional psychological help seeking were identified among these participants. Significant variations were indicated in year of study, gender, marital status and whether they ever taught before coming to college in both summative and factor scores of ATPPHS. Young adults students hold more negative attitudes towards psychological professional help seeking for a mental illness in Kenya. The Study recommended on psychoeducation on both mental illness and expectations about counseling to improve help seeking behaviour.
| Published in | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences (Volume 5, Issue 3) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.pbs.20160503.12 |
| Page(s) | 69-76 |
| 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 |
Attitudes, Professional Psychological Help Seeking, Teacher Trainees, Young Adults
| [1] | World Health Organization (2004). A report on the WHO, Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse in Collaboration with the prevention Research Centre of the Universities of Nijmegen and Maastricht, WHO HQ, Geneva |
| [2] | Rickwood D. J., Deane F. P. and Wilson C. J. When and how do young people seek professional help for mental health problems? Med J Aust 2007; 187(7): 35. |
| [3] | WHO Fact Sheet (218), 2001. The “undefined and Hidden Burden of Mental Health Problems. WHO HQ, Geneva, Switzerland. |
| [4] | Ostun, T. B. The Global Burden of Mental Disorders. American Journal of Public Health, 1999; 89(9):1315-1318. |
| [5] | Jang, Y., Kim, G., Hansen, L., & Chiriboga, D. A. (2007). Attitudes of older Korean Americans toward mental health services. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 55(4), 616-620. |
| [6] | Al-Kabbaa A. F., Al-Jehani M. & Salih M. Prevalence of minor Psychiatric Morbidity among female teachers in girls secondary schools in Tabuk City, Saudi Arabia. Journal of Family and Community Medicine 2003, 10(2): 31-36. |
| [7] | Nyavanga E. J., Ndetei D. M., Mathai M., & Kuria M. W. Psychiatric Morbidity among Public Primary School Teachers at Mogotio Division, in Koibatek District. University of Nairobi, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Medicine. Department of Psychiatry, 2009. |
| [8] | Ani C. Kinanee J. and Ola B. Psychological Distress among Trainee Teachers in Nigeria: association with religious practice. European Journal of Educational Studies 2011; 3(1): 163-169. |
| [9] | Moreno-Abril O., Luana-del-Castillo, J. D., Fernandez-Molina C., Jurado D., Gurpegui M. Laardelli-Claret P., and Galvez-Vargas R. Factors associated with psychiatric morbidity in Spanish Schoolteachers. Occupational Medicine, 2007; 57: 194-202. |
| [10] | WHO Fact Sheet (218), 2001. The “undefined and Hidden Burden of Mental Health Problems. WHO HQ, Geneva, Switzerland. |
| [11] | World Health Organization (2007). Promoting Mental Health: Concepts, Emerging evidence, Practice: A report of the World Health Organization, Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse in collaboration with the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation and the University of Melbourne. World Health Organization. Geneva. |
| [12] | Zawawi J. M. A. Psychological Help Seeking Attitudes and Personality factors among Jordanian College Students. European Journal of Social Sciences 2011; 25(4): 606-629. |
| [13] | Chen R. and Mak W. Seeking Professional Help: Etiology and beliefs about mental illness across cultures. Journal of Counseling Psychology 2008; 55: 442-450. |
| [14] | Eisenberg, D., Downs, M. F., Golberstein, E., & Zivin, K. (2009). Stigma and help seeking for mental health among college students. Medical Care Research and Review, 66(5), 522-541. |
| [15] | Jorm A. F. Mental Health Literacy: Public Knowledge and beliefs about Mental Disorders. British Journal of Psychiatry 2000; 177: 396-401. |
| [16] | Gulliver A, Griffiths KM, Christensen H. Perceived barriers and facilitators to mental health help-seeking in young people: a systematic review. BMC Psychiatry 2010; 10:113 |
| [17] | Suradi Salim. Psychological Help seeking attitudes among Malaysian College and University Students. Prescodia Social and Behavioural Sciences, 2010; 5: 426-430. |
| [18] | Fischer E. H. and Turner, J. 1. Orientations to seeking professional help: Development and research utility of an attitude scale. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1970; 35, 79-90. |
| [19] | Nam S. K., Chu H., Lee M. Lee J., Kim N. and Lee S. A meta-analysis of gender differences in attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help. Journal of American College Health 2010; 59(2): 110-116. |
| [20] | Ndetei D. M., Khasakhala L., Nyabola L. Ongecha F. Seedat S. Mutiso V., and Odhiambo G. Prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms and syndromes in Kenyan Child and Adolescent. Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health 2008; 20(1): 33-51. |
| [21] | Ndetei, D. M. Khasakhala L., Nyabola L., Ongecha F and Kokonya, D. A. Psychosocial and health aspects of drug use by students in public Secondary Schools in Nairobi, Kenya. Substance Abuse 2009; 30: 61-68. |
| [22] | Yeap R. and Low W. Y. Mental Health Knowledge, Attitudes and Help Seeking Tendencies: A Malaysian Context. Singapore Medical Journal 2009; 50(12): 1169-1176 |
| [23] | Aghukwa N. C. Secondary School Teachers Attitude to Mental Illness in Ogun State, Nigeria. African Journal of Psychiatry 2009; 1: 59-63. |
| [24] | Hsiaowen Chang. Help-Seeking for Stressful Events Among Chinese College Students in Taiwan: Roles of Gender, Prior History of Counseling, and Help-Seeking Attitudes. Journal of College Student Development 2008; 49(1): 41-51. |
| [25] | Ang, R. P., Lim, K. M., & Tan, A. Effects of gender and sex role orientation on help-seeking attitudes. Current Psychology: Developmental, Learning, Personality, Social 2004; 2: 203–214. |
| [26] | Zhi-hong, H. Predictors of college students' attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help. Paper presented in proceedings (pp. 1-4) of Bioinformatics and Biomedical Engineering (ICBBE), 2010 4th International Conference (18-20 June 2010), Chengdu- China |
| [27] | Nyutu P. N. Bertel J. M. Perceptions of teacher preparation and attitudes regarding students’ mental health in Kenya. Advances in school Mental Health Promotion 2012; 5(1): 63-74. |
| [28] | Tomaras V. D., Ginieri-Cpccossis M., Vassiliadou M., Malliori M., Ferintinos S., Soldatos C. R. and Tylee A. Education in mental health promotion and its impact on the participants’ attitudes and perceived mental health. Annals of General Psychiatry 2011; 10:33. |
| [29] | McCathy C., Mejia O. l., Liu H. I. and Duncan A. C. Cognitive appraisal theory: a psycho-educational model for connecting thoughts and feelings in multicultural group work. Paper presented at the Annual Convention of American Psychological Association 2010, San Francisco, CA. |
| [30] | Fernandez J. I. The effects of athletic participation, expectations about counseling behaviours among community college students. Unpublished dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the degree of Doctor of Education, 2005; University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, |
| [31] | Ak-Krenawi A., Graham J. R. Al-Bedah E. A., Kadri H. M. and Sehawail M. A. Cross-national comparison of Middle Eastern university students: Help seeking behaviours, attitudes toward helping professionals, and cultural beliefs about mental health problems. Community Mental Health Journal 2009; 45: 26-36. |
| [32] | Al-Darmaki F. Attitudes towards seeking professional psychological help: What really counts for United Arab Emirates University Students? Social Behaviour and Personality. An International Journal 2003, 31(5): 497. |
| [33] | Zhi-hong, H. Predictors of college students' attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help. Paper presented in proceedings (pp. 1-4) of Bioinformatics and Biomedical Engineering (ICBBE), 2010 4th International Conference (18-20 June 2010), Chengdu- China. |
| [34] | Kakhnovets, R. (2011). Relationships among personality, expectations about counseling, and help-seeking attitudes. Journal of Counseling and Development: JCD, 89(1), 11. |
APA Style
Eunice Jemalel Nyavanga, Mourice Barasa. (2016). Attitudes Towards Professional Psychological Help Seeking Among Young Adults in Kenya: Case Study of Public Teacher Training Colleges. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, 5(3), 69-76. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20160503.12
ACS Style
Eunice Jemalel Nyavanga; Mourice Barasa. Attitudes Towards Professional Psychological Help Seeking Among Young Adults in Kenya: Case Study of Public Teacher Training Colleges. Psychol. Behav. Sci. 2016, 5(3), 69-76. doi: 10.11648/j.pbs.20160503.12
AMA Style
Eunice Jemalel Nyavanga, Mourice Barasa. Attitudes Towards Professional Psychological Help Seeking Among Young Adults in Kenya: Case Study of Public Teacher Training Colleges. Psychol Behav Sci. 2016;5(3):69-76. doi: 10.11648/j.pbs.20160503.12
Share This Article
Twitter
Linked In
Facebook
Copy
Download@article{10.11648/j.pbs.20160503.12,
author = {Eunice Jemalel Nyavanga and Mourice Barasa},
title = {Attitudes Towards Professional Psychological Help Seeking Among Young Adults in Kenya: Case Study of Public Teacher Training Colleges},
journal = {Psychology and Behavioral Sciences},
volume = {5},
number = {3},
pages = {69-76},
doi = {10.11648/j.pbs.20160503.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20160503.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.pbs.20160503.12},
abstract = {The objective of this study was to determine the attitudes towards professional psychological help seeking among young adults in Kenya. A self completed questionnaire made up of demographic characteristics and Attitudes towards Professional Psychological Help Seeking scale (ATPPHS) was used to collect data from 2777 young adults training in four selected public teacher training colleges. Unfavorable attitudes towards professional psychological help seeking were identified among these participants. Significant variations were indicated in year of study, gender, marital status and whether they ever taught before coming to college in both summative and factor scores of ATPPHS. Young adults students hold more negative attitudes towards psychological professional help seeking for a mental illness in Kenya. The Study recommended on psychoeducation on both mental illness and expectations about counseling to improve help seeking behaviour.},
year = {2016}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Attitudes Towards Professional Psychological Help Seeking Among Young Adults in Kenya: Case Study of Public Teacher Training Colleges AU - Eunice Jemalel Nyavanga AU - Mourice Barasa Y1 - 2016/06/18 PY - 2016 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20160503.12 DO - 10.11648/j.pbs.20160503.12 T2 - Psychology and Behavioral Sciences JF - Psychology and Behavioral Sciences JO - Psychology and Behavioral Sciences SP - 69 EP - 76 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2328-7845 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20160503.12 AB - The objective of this study was to determine the attitudes towards professional psychological help seeking among young adults in Kenya. A self completed questionnaire made up of demographic characteristics and Attitudes towards Professional Psychological Help Seeking scale (ATPPHS) was used to collect data from 2777 young adults training in four selected public teacher training colleges. Unfavorable attitudes towards professional psychological help seeking were identified among these participants. Significant variations were indicated in year of study, gender, marital status and whether they ever taught before coming to college in both summative and factor scores of ATPPHS. Young adults students hold more negative attitudes towards psychological professional help seeking for a mental illness in Kenya. The Study recommended on psychoeducation on both mental illness and expectations about counseling to improve help seeking behaviour. VL - 5 IS - 3 ER -
Information
Email: