title: The bolstering effect of conceptual priming on psychological help-seeking attitudes in men.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It is a well-established finding that men are often unwilling to engage with mental health services, and that they hold negative attitudes toward psychological help-seeking. Consequently, men's psychological problems often remain untreated, which in turn can compromise their quality of life.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The present experiment addresses this problem using a conceptual priming paradigm from social psychology called Scrambled Sentence Test as an intervention to change men's negative attitudes toward psychological help-seeking.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Scrambled Sentence Test works by asking participants to unscramble sentences that unbeknownst to them include priming words--in this case, openness and communication-related words. Sixty-nine men completed the task (with priming or control words) under the instructions of a condition-blind experimenter.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The primed group showed more positive attitudes (Mdn = 56.5) toward seeking psychological help compared to controls (Mdn = 40.0), p < 0.01; r = 0.38.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings are the first to suggest that conceptual priming of this kind can be used an as effective and time-efficient intervention by mental health professionals to encourage men to seek help for psychological problems.
authors: a Department of Psychology , King's College London, Guy's Campus , London , UK and.
authors: Omar
authors: O
authors: Yousaf
authors: b St George's, University of London , London , UK.
authors: Aneka
authors: A
authors: Popat
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D000066505:Help-Seeking Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Attitude change; help-seeking; men; mental health; priming