Suicide ideation and suicide impact a rapidly rising number of individuals each year, however our society has not envisioned a way to increase help-seeking behaviors to decrease these numbers. The literature discusses many barriers and hurdles to help-seeking, but the focus of SI within the context of help-seeking has not been studied in depth. The purpose of this qualitative study was to increase knowledge on the process through which individuals determine how and whom to ask for help when experiencing SI. Two sections of themes were found: things that encourage individuals to seek or continue to seek help, and things that discourage individuals from seeking help or encourage them to discontinue seeking help.

Despite the relatively high availability of free or low-cost psychological care many service members and veterans choose not to seek services (Vogt et al., 2014). This paper aimed to investigate whether military culture moderates the relationship between stigma and help-seeking intentions among service members. Prior work has suggested that service member underutilization of services may be the result of military culture and its emphasis on placing the mission above personal needs but this finding has not been clearly demonstrated in the literature. The findings of this study revealed that high commitment to military values coupled with heightened perceptions of stigma may play an important role in a service member’s decision to seek out psychological treatment. These results lend support to the effects of commitment to core military values and perceived stigma on psychological help-seeking intentions and demonstrate the need to consider these factors when tailoring psychological interventions for military personnel.

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From medieval to modern times, mental illness is a construct that has been deeply misunderstood and stigmatized by humankind (Dubin & Fink, 1992). Individuals living in the United States experience a fear of being judged or ridiculed for their psychopathological symptomology as a result of mental illness stigma (Bharadwaj et al. 2015). Mental illness stigma impacts how individuals choose to seek help and whether they choose to seek help at all (Rusch et al., 2005). Individuals from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds face unique barriers to access to mental healthcare (Cauce et. al, 2002). Specifically, individuals from diverse backgrounds are affected by the social and cultural environment they are a part of where cultural factors can impact whether or not these individuals choose to seek help from mental health service providers (Cauce et. al, 2002). The theory of “Double Stigma” (Gary, 2005) proposed that individuals from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds face impactful barriers to mental healthcare as a result of of mental illness stigma combined with racial discrimination. Different ethnic minority groups face unique barriers to mental healthcare. African Americans are a group of individuals who have been found to associate seeking mental health treatment with feelings of embarrassment when compared to European Americans (Snowden, 2001). Additionally, Asian Americans are a group of individuals who have often referred to as the “model minority,” a problematic notion which suggests that in terms of mental illness, this ethnic group has had little to no social or psychological problems and have assimilated well to life in the United States (Sue & Morishima, 1982). This theory has contributed to Asian American communities internalizing the idea that they must uphold the standard that has been set for them, ultimately impacting their decision to seek help for mental illnesses (Sue & Morishima, 1982). Within the Asian American community, South Asians are the third largest and fastest growing ethnic group in the United States (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000). Within the South Asian community, stigma is highly prevalent and perpetuated by discrimination (Neelam, Mak, & Wessely, 1997). This discrimination and judgement from one’s own community impacts if and how individuals from South Asian communities choose to seek help. Loya, Reddy and Hinshaw (2010) found that relative to European American college students, South Asian college students presented with higher level of reluctance to seek help through University-based counseling services. Loya and colleagues (2010) also found over all poorer attitudes toward individuals with mental illness from South Asian college students. This study investigated perceptions of mental illness and help seeking across racial groups, with a specific focus on South Asian communities. Specifically, a model examining informal and formal help seeking was utilized to explore differences in perceptions of help seeking practices across racial groups. Through multigroup structural equation modeling (SEM), changes in model fit were explored to assess whether negative perceptions of mental illness predicted informal and formal help seeking behaviors across racial groups. Participants included 355 individuals, 18 and older, across the United States who identified as South Asian, White/European American or Black/African American. Based on previous research which has found that ethnic minority groups face unique barriers to accessing appropriate mental healthcare (Cauce et. al, 2002; Gary, 2005; Snowden, 2001; Sue & Morishima, 1982; Neelam, Mak & Wessely, 1997; Loya, Reddy & Hinshaw, 2010), it was hypothesized that South Asian individuals would have more negative perceptions of individuals with mental illness as well as more negative attitudes towards all modes of help seeking compared to their non-South Asian counterparts. Additionally, it was hypothesized that South Asian females will have more positive attitudes towards mental illness than South Asian males. Results indicated that a more positive perception of mental illness is associated with more likelihood of seeking help for mental illness for all racial groups examined through SEM. Results also indicated similar fit indices and invariance across all racial groups examined through SEM. Through univariate analyses, South Asian females were found to have a more positive view of individuals with mental illness than South Asian males. Univariate analyses also revealed that compared to White/European Americans, individuals who identified as Black/African American perceived mental illness more negatively when assessing individuals their own racial group. Implications, strengths, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed. / School Psychology

Intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors often consult with their informal network members (i.e., friends and family) about the violence they experience- far more often than they do with formal resources. These informal network members (INMs) are therefore uniquely situated to help survivors, particularly by helping them understand the violence as an undeserved problem and by providing them with tangible aid and information to exit and stay free of violent relationships. The extent to which and through what means INMs could help, however, remains under-studied. This study therefore sought to understand how disclosure to informal network members (INMs) and their specific reactions to that disclosure shape survivors’ initial experiences with IPV and their IPV victimization in subsequent relationships. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate quantitative analyses (linear, logistic, and negative binomial regression) were conducted on survey responses from a sample of 200 female survivors between the ages of 18 and 30 who had been out of their initial violent relationships for at least 6 months. These analyses included the use of six independent variables (four measures of disclosure, one measure of reactions to disclosure that labeled the violence as problematic, and one measure of reactions to disclosure that provided information or tangible support), three dependent variables (months between violence onset and relationship end, frequency of violence during exposure to violence, and subsequent violent relationships), and ten covariates. Increases in disclosure frequency were significantly related to decreases in the frequency of violence across three different measures of disclosure in the multivariate models. Although the bivariate findings suggested that disclosure is related to time between violence onset and the end of the relationship, the multivariate results did not find a significant relationship with this variable, nor between disclosure and subsequent violent relationships. The results were more nuanced when examining the specifics of the INM reactions to those disclosures in the multivariate models. Each increase in the frequency of problem definition reactions was associated with a decrease in the frequency of violence experienced. Increasing frequencies in urging the survivor to talk to a lawyer or police and in providing or helping her get information were related to a decrease in the time between violence onset and relationship end. Increases in the frequency of urging the survivor to talk to a lawyer or police were related to an increase in the frequency of violence, whereas increases in the frequency of offering a place to stay was related to a decrease in the frequency of violence. Lastly, an increase in the frequency of information and tangible support reactions as a whole was significantly related to a decrease in the odds of experiencing subsequent relationship violence. These findings add nuance to existing models and frameworks of IPV help-seeking, motivate and serve as a basis for further research into how disclosure to INMs can shape varying outcomes for IPV survivors, and add to a body of literature that can ultimately be used to inform not only the practices of INMs, but also more formal policies and practices to enable informal systems to better aid IPV survivors. Regarding implications for theories of help-seeking and disclosure, the findings confirm that although disclosure itself is important, what happens during disclosure is just as, if not more, important when shaping outcomes for survivors. Further, because of the varied ways in which the disclosure process might shape survivor outcomes as evidenced by these findings, conceptual models and frameworks outlining the relationships between disclosure and survivor outcomes need to be refined to better capture these complexities. In terms of future research, there is much left to explore regarding the disclosure process, including for which types of survivors certain reactions work best, which types of INMs are most likely to use which reactions, and how combinations of reactions interact in influencing survivor outcomes. Once corroborated by other studies, these findings can be used to inform policy and programming to enable INMs to react effectively to disclosure so as to ensure greater justice for survivors. Any awareness-raising policies or programs designed to shape INM practice would need to be evaluated, creating a variety of evaluative research opportunities. Because of the high prevalence of IPV among young adult women in the United States and around the world, the results of this study fit well into the contemporary global discussion of how to reduce and prevent survivor experiences with IPV. / Criminal Justice

Mental health in young adults can vary significantly with a large proportion struggling with clinical disorders. Despite the high prevalence of psychopathology, many do not receive help. Relevant barriers to help-seeking include self-reliance, lack of awareness of symptoms or sources of help, and stigma. Measurement Feedback Systems (MFSs) and self-monitoring are potential avenues to assist in treatment engagement. In this study, Bi-Weekly Monitoring with Informational Feedback (BWM) was implemented in a college student population (N = 74) where students were asked to report on their overall psychological functioning and set goals every other week. BWM was evaluated for feasibility, effects on help-seeking overall, and mechanisms of self-monitoring were explored. BWM was determined to be feasible in this population; although, help-seeking attitudes did not change over time as a result of BWM. Ancillary analyses explored the effects of BWM and mental health symptomatology. Participants reported on their attitudes towards BWM which were generally in favor of BWM. Some promising results emerged; however, they were largely statistically insignificant. Limitations of this study include a large drop-out rate in the control group, which left unequal groups. As such, analyses should be interpreted with caution. Future studies should evaluate BWM on a weekly basis with a larger sample to better understand the effects of BWM on self-monitoring mechanisms. / Master of Science / Mental health in young adults can vary significantly with a large proportion struggling with clinical disorders. Despite the high prevalence of psychopathology, many do not receive help. Relevant barriers to help-seeking include self-reliance, lack of awareness of symptoms or sources of help, and stigma. Measurement Feedback Systems (MFSs) and self-monitoring are potential avenues to assist in treatment engagement. In this study, Bi-Weekly Monitoring with Informational Feedback (BWM) was implemented in a college student population (N = 74) where students were asked to report on their overall psychological functioning and set goals every other week. BWM was evaluated for feasibility, effects on help-seeking overall, and mechanisms of self-monitoring were explored. BWM was determined to be feasible in this population; although, help-seeking attitudes did not change over time as a result of BWM. Attitudes towards BWM were variable, yet largely favorable. While some promising results emerged, there has yet to be concrete support for BWM. This study is limited due to a large drop-out rate in the control group, as such the results should be interpreted with caution. Future studies should evaluate BWM on a weekly basis with a larger sample to better understand the effects of BWM on self-monitoring mechanisms.