title: Intention to seek professional psychological help among college students in Turkey: influence of help-seeking attitudes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Depression rates are high among college students in Turkey, but often students do not seek mental health care. This study aimed to examine the association between attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help and intention to seek professional psychological help among such college students. We also examined the factors associated with students' professional psychological help-seeking attitudes. We conducted this cross-sectional study among 456 conveniently sampled graduate and undergraduate students in Ankara. We collected students' data using self-administered, structured questionnaires in the Turkish language and then analyzed the data using both descriptive and multivariate methods.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the multiple linear regression analyses, students' attitudes towards seeking professional psychological help were positively associated with intention to seek such help (p < 0.001). Other factors positively associated with students' attitudes towards seeking professional psychological help included the following: age (p < 0.001), perceived social support from family (p < 0.05), perceived social support from friends (p < 0.01), and perceived social support from significant other (p < 0.05). Students with less positive attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help were more likely to be men (p < 0.001), undergraduate students (p < 0.001), and students who were not aware of the presence of the on-campus counseling center (p < 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Students' positive attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help were positively associated with their intentions to seek such help. To encourage utilization of the counseling center inside the campus more frequently when in need, interventions might be necessary to improve students' attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help-in particular among young male students.
authors: Feyza
authors: F
authors: Seyfi
authors: Department of Public Health, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 316 Arnold House, 715 North Pleasant St, Amherst, MA 01003-9304, USA. krishna@schoolph.umass.edu.
authors: Krishna C
authors: KC
authors: Poudel
authors: Junko
authors: J
authors: Yasuoka
authors: Keiko
authors: K
authors: Otsuka
authors: Masamine
authors: M
authors: Jimba
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012944:Social Support; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D014421:Turkey; D055815:Young Adult