title: Effects of a brief media intervention on expectations, attitudes, and intentions of mental health help seeking.
abstract: This study examined the effects of a mass-media video intervention on expectations, attitudes, and intentions to seek help from professional mental health care services. A public service announcement-style, mass-media video intervention was developed, with prior empirical research on help-seeking behaviors organized according to the theory of reasoned action/planned behavior. In total, 228 participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 conditions: (a) the media-exposed intervention group, who watched programming in which the media intervention was inserted, and (b) the control group, who watched the same programming without the media intervention. The media intervention was not influential on expectation and belief-based barrier variables. However, the media intervention was effective at increasing positive attitudes toward help seeking. Findings regarding the intervention's ability to increase help-seeking intentions for interpersonal problems were complex. Implications of these findings for future research are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Ohio University, Ohio, USA. amyd@uwest.edu
authors.forename: Amy L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Demyan
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Anderson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D008297:Male; D008389:Marketing of Health Services; D008402:Mass Media; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D015146:Midwestern United States; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D014741:Video Recording