Evidence supporting a range of 6-14 years between mental illness symptom recognition and psychological help seeking has spurred a substantial interest in help seeking barriers. The present study suggests that mind and body dualism, the perceiving of the mind as an entity distinct from the body, is one such barrier to help seeking. Despite the fact that beliefs in mind-body dualism or its opposite, that of physicalism, are evident in virtually all human cultures and religions, surprisingly little is known about the psychological and behavioral implications of holding such beliefs. An exception to this disparity is a study that demonstrated a connection between dualism and decreased engagement in healthy behaviors, such as exercise and eating habits (Forstmann et al., 2012). The aim of the present study was to expand on these findings by investigating the effects of mind-body beliefs and gender on attitudes towards professional psychological help and holistic or alternative medicines. In accordance with my hypothesis, a MANOVA indicated a main effect of gender, such that women felt more positively than men about seeking professional help for their own mental health problems as well as about the general value of therapy for others. A secondary analysis indicated that participants who self-identified as Jewish felt significantly more positive about psychotherapeutic treatment compared to Christian, Hindu, and Buddhist religious groups. Future research should continue to examine the links between mind-body ideologies, religion, culture, and help seeking through a large-scale correlational analysis utilizing naturally occurring mind-body beliefs.

Närstående som mist någon i suicid är i riskzonen för att utveckla psykisk ohälsa. Få studier har undersökt närståendes upplevelse av samhällets stödinsatser. Det är även få studier som undersökt relationen mellan närståendes grad av self-compassion och hjälpsökandebeteende. Syftet med denna studie var därför att undersöka hur närstående upplever samhällets stödinsatser, samt om det finns ett samband mellan grad av self-compassion, antalet stödinsatser de sökt och vilken stödinsats de vänt sig till. Studien bestod av 174 personer som var medlemmar i den ideella organisationen Suicidprevention och efterlevandestöd (SPES) där samtliga var över 18 år. Oberoende t-test användes för att se skillnad i medelvärde mellan olika grupper av self-compassion och antalet stödinsatser de sökt. Vidare gjordes chi-två test och ANOVA-analyser för att se om det fanns en statistisk signifikant skillnad mellan grad av self-compassion, antalet stödinsatser de sökt samt vilken typ av stöd. Resultatet visade att närstående fått mest stöd från framförallt familjemedlem/vän eller partner men även från ideell organisation och religiöst förbund. Minst stöd upplevde de att de fått från vuxenpsykiatrin, vårdcentral och privat professionell behandlare. Det fanns ett signifikant samband mellan antalet stödinsatser deltagare sökt och grad av self-compassion, där de med lägre grad av self-compassion sökte fler stödinsatser. Resultatet visade även en signifikant skillnad i skattningen mellan olika grader av self-compassion och vilka som sökt stödinsatserna vuxenpsykiatrin och familjemedlem/vän eller partner. Resultatet tyder på att det nuvarande stödet är bristande och det behövs mer forskning inom området som underlag till förbättring. / People bereaved by suicide are at risk to develop mental health problems. Few studies have aimed to research on their experience of support efforts in combination with self-compassion and how it influences help-seeking behaviour. The purpose of the study was to investigate how the bereaved experience support efforts, and whether the degree of self-compassion affects how much support they sought and which support effort they turned to. The participants were 174 persons from the non-profit organization Suicidprevention och efterlevandestöd (SPES) and all participants were over 18 years old. Independent t-test was used to see the difference in means between groups of self-compassion and the number of support efforts they sought. Chi-square test and ANOVA-analyzes were used to calculate the significant difference between groups in self-compassion, how much and what kind of support they sought. Results showed that the bereaved experienced most support from family members/friends or partners, non-profit organizations and religious associations. They experienced least support from adult psychiatry, primary care and private practicing psychologists. There was a significant association between how many support efforts bereaved sought and degree of self-compassion, where they with lower degree of self-compassion sought more support efforts. The result showed a significant difference between degree of self-compassion and those who sought help from adult psychiatry and family member/friend or partner. As the result indicates that the current support is inadequate, more research in this area is needed as a basis for improvement.

Organisations are increasingly using e-learning as a tool to train employees due to its flexibility and cost-efficiency. Training and development plays a central part in onboarding of new employees where e-learning is used to help new employees getting up to speed in their roles and become an effective member in the organisation. Self-regulatory learning is an important theory to consider when managing learning in organisations. It provides insight on what learners do in educational environments in order to learn, and what important underlying behaviours that make a learning process flourish. Researchers call for an examination of the learning process of e-learners. Understanding learning processes can deepen our understanding of what support employees need and thereby provide important insights in how to support learners during e-learning. This paper presents a qualitative study, which applies four elements of self-regulatory learning to the phenomenon of e-learning during onboarding in IT-organisations. The aim is to understand new employees e-learning processes in their new roles. Our findings display the prevalent role of goal setting and help seeking during onboarding. This research identifies different types of goals and how a combination of distant and proximal goals provide learners with a good foundation for professional development during onboarding. Furthermore, we acknowledge the importance of help seeking within the organisational context and its vital role in early stages of using e-learning systems.

Men are much less likely to seek out mental health care services than women, despite having equally significant mental health related needs. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of the construction and delivery of intervention messages designed to encourage men to seek help for mental health concerns. 225 men in the United States were randomly assigned to one of 4 vignette conditions featuring a pro-mental health help seeking message, varying based on the gender of the sender of the message (male vs. female) and based on the inclusion of information concerning misconceptions about therapy (inclusion vs. exclusion of information). A male message sender and a message that included information about misconceptions regarding therapy were both predicted to contribute to higher mental health help seeking intentions for men, and particularly so for men who conform strongly to masculine gender role norms. These hypotheses were not supported; however, the results replicated prior findings indicating that men who conform strongly to masculine gender role norms are less open to seeking help for mental health concerns. Additionally, men’s conformity to the specific masculine norms of self-reliance and violence both at least partially moderated the impact of message sender gender upon help seeking intentions. Further research should continue to investigate the potential effects of message sender gender and message content on men’s help seeking intentions by presenting the pro-help seeking message in person and by presenting a message that more explicitly challenges typical masculine attitudes about mental health care.

Bakgrund: Postpartum depression drabbar 13-19% av nyblivna mammor och konsekvenserna av att behandling inte sätts in i tid kan få bestående effekter för såväl mamman som barnet. Syfte: Att beskriva faktorer som påverkar hjälpsökande beteenden hos nyblivna mammor med symptom på postpartum depression. Metod: En allmän litteraturstudie genomfördes där tio kvalitativa artiklar granskades, analyserades och sammanställdes. Resultat: Ur litteraturstudiens resultat framkom temana: hälso-och sjukvårdens påverkan, familj och närståendes betydelse, kunskapsnivån kring postpartum depression, kulturens betydelse och förväntningar kring moderskapet. Hälso-och sjukvården samt familj och närstående beskrevs vara faktorer som främjade kvinnors hjälpsökande beteenden samtidigt som kultur, okunskap, informationsbrist och förväntningar kring moderskapet var framträdande hinder på vägen till att söka hjälp. Slutsats: Studien visade på ett antal faktorer som påverkade det hjälpsökande beteendet. För att kunna minska stigmatiseringen kring diagnosen och istället öka kunskaperna behövs det mer omfattande informationsåtgärder. Sjuksköterskor behöver ha god kunskap om postpartum depressionen för att förstå kvinnornas hjälpsökande beteenden och vidare forskning kring upplevelsen av hälso-och sjukvården som en hindrande faktor är önskvärt för att denna faktor i framtiden endast ska vara främjande. / Background: Postpartum depression affects 13-19% of new mothers, and the consequences when treatment is not introduced in time can have permanent effects for both the mother and the child. Purpose: To describe factors that affect help seeking behaviors in new mothers with symptoms of postpartum depression. Method: A general literature study was conducted where ten qualitative articles were examined, analyzed and compiled. Results: The results of the literature study featured the themes: the impact of healthcare, the meaning of family and close relatives, the level of knowledge regarding postpartum depression, the significance of culture and expectations about maternity. Healthcare and family were described as promotive factors in women's help seeking behavior while culture, ignorance, lack of information and expectations about motherhood were prominent barriers in help seeking. Conclusion: The study showed several factors that influenced the help seeking behavior. In order to reduce stigmatization around the diagnosis and instead increase knowledge, more comprehensive information measures are needed. Nurses need to have knowledge of postpartum depression in order to understand women's help seeking behaviors and further research on the health care experience as a barrier is desirable for this only be a promotive factor in the future.

Women treated for a gynecological cancer report longstanding post-treatment difficulties for which they rarely seek or receive help. Few intervention studies have successfully improved global sexual health within this population. Research in this domain is challenging due to inconsistent measurements of sexuality, low response rates and high attrition rates. The overarching study objectives were: (a) To contribute to the advancement of research on supportive care needs (including sexual health needs), desire for help, and predictors of needs; and, (b) To inform the development of services for gynecological cancer survivors. In Study 1, a qualitative interview study explored the experiences of 15 gynecological cancer survivors. Interviews were conducted and analysed based on the Interpretive Description approach . In Study 2 (for which results were analyzed in two parts), a descriptive, cross-sectional needs assessment was conducted to measure supportive care needs, desire for help, sexual health and vaginal changes, and service format preferences in 113 patients. In Part 1 of Study 2, descriptive and regression analyses explored patient needs, desire for help and potential predictors of these variables. In Part 2, a descriptive analysis explored sexual health needs and vaginal changes, desire for help with sexual health needs, and their associations with sociodemographic and medical variables. Qualitative results from Study 1 suggested that psychological, emotional and relational aspects of sexuality were as important to the participants as physiological sexual response. In the needs assessment, the strongest predictors of greater unmet needs and increased readiness for help were younger age and shorter time since treatment. Moderate to high sexual and social needs were equally prevalent in women recently treated and those treated several years prior to the study, suggesting that sexual and social needs may remain unaddressed over time. Further, many women who reported a need did not desire help, demonstrating the subjectivity of needs and distress, as well as the potential presence of barriers to seeking help. Both studies revealed a common finding, where sexual health needs were a product of the discordance between participants’ current sexual experiences and their perceptions of ideal sexual health. Overall, the two studies indicate that a significant subgroup of patients experience unmet needs in cancer survivorship, most of which are non-physical; also, while some needs were higher following treatment, unmet social and sexual health needs show little relationship with time since treatment. Ambivalence about receiving help with unmet needs is related to beliefs about the role of the health care team in meeting non-physical needs, as well as other perceived barriers. Patient’s perceived sexual health needs and barriers to receiving help should be evaluated within a comprehensive framework of needs and discussed one-on-one. Future research should explore the added predictive value of other groups of medical and psychological variables.

The effects of goal interdependence on employees’ performance outcomes have been well documented in the literature. Yet, the relationship between goal interdependence and employees’ proactive behaviors remains largely unexplored. Integrating the theory of cooperation and competition with the employee proactivity literature, this study investigates how cooperative goal interdependence and competitive goal interdependence respectively influence employee knowledge sharing and knowledge hiding, and in turn shape their propensity to seek help from coworkers. It further examines reciprocity beliefs as an individual factor in affecting the indirect effect of goal interdependence on help seeking. Specifically, positive reciprocity belief is hypothesized to moderate the mediating role of knowledge sharing, whereas negative reciprocity belief is expected to moderate the mediating effect of knowledge hiding. In Study 1, a total of 127 interviews were conducted with full-time employees working in professional service firms across four cities including Hong Kong, Macau, China and Taiwan. Results of structural equation modeling supported the mediating role of knowledge sharing in the relationship between cooperative goal interdependence and employee help seeking. In Study 2, an experimental study was conducted with 150 full-time students at a university in Macau to replicate the findings in Study 1 and to test the moderation hypotheses. It yielded findings consistent with Study 1 and supportive of the moderating role of negative reciprocity belief in the mediated effect of goal interdependence on help seeking. Specifically, knowledge hiding mediates the relationship between competitive goal interdependence and help seeking, when an individual is high in negative reciprocity belief. Findings of the two studies provide both theoretical contributions to the literature and practical insights to organizations. Cooperative goal interdependence is a valuable method for managers to promote knowledge sharing, inhibit knowledge hiding, and encourage active help seeking among employees.

Våld mot kvinnor är ett centralt område i arbetet med mänskliga rättigheter och global hälsa. En grupp som är underrepresenterad i hjälpapparaten för våld mot kvinnor är Rumäniens romska kvinnor, vars socio-ekonomiska förutsättningar ofta skiljer sig från majoritetsbefolkningen. Studien grundar sig på kvalitativ metod och syftar till att undersöka hjälpsökandeprocessen hos romska kvinnor i Rumänien som sökt formell hjälp till följd av våldsutsatthet. Sex semi-strukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med kvinnor som erfarit våld och sökt formell hjälp för sin våldsutsatthet. En abduktiv tematisk analys användes för att analysera intervjumaterialet. Resultatet visade att kvinnornas problemdefinition influerades av våldets ansvarsfördelning, ekonomiska och juridiska förutsättningar, social acceptans av våld mot kvinnor, normer kring kön och cykler av uppbrott. Kvinnornas beslut att söka hjälp påverkades av isolering, tidigare erfarenheter av våld, barn och oförmåga att lösa problemet själv. Kvinnornas val av hjälpkällor korresponderade med deras psykologiska och fysiska behov, kunskap och erfarenheter av informella och formella hjälpkällor. Avslutningsvis visade resultatet att hjälpsökandeprocesserna till stor del överensstämmer med evidens från andra grupper men att större hänsyn behöver tas till kvinnornas handlingsutrymme ifråga om tillgänglighet till hjälpkälla, ekonomiska förutsättningar, ålder och graden av kollektivism. / Violence against women is a key area in the work on human rights and global health. One group that is underrepresented in the help apparatus for women who experienced violence is Romania's Roma women, whose socio-economic conditions often differ from the majority population. The study is based on a qualitative method and aims to examine the help-seeking process among Roma women in Romania who have sought formal help as a result of violence. Six semi-structured interviews were conducted with women who had experienced violence and sought formal help for their exposure to violence. An abductive thematic analysis was used to analyze the interview material. The results showed that women's problem definition was influenced by their interpretations of violence, economic and legal conditions, social acceptance of violence against women, gender norms, and cycles of separations. The women's decision to seek help was influenced by isolation, previous experiences of violence, children, and inability to autonomous problem- solving. The women's choice of sources of help corresponded to their psychological and physical needs, knowledge, and experience of informal and formal sources of help. In conclusion, the results showed that the help-seeking processes of Roma women in Romania are largely in line with evidence from other groups, but that greater consideration needs to be given to the women’s access to resources, economic conditions, age, and the degree of collectivism.

Background: Public attitudes toward depression and help-seeking behaviour are important factors influencing depressed people to obtain professional help and adequate treatment. OSPI-Europe is a multi-level suicide prevention programme including a public awareness campaign. It was implemented in four regions of four European countries (Germany, Hungary, Ireland and Portugal). This paper reports the results of the evaluation of the campaign, including its visibility and effects of the campaign on stigma associated with depression and help-seeking behaviour. Methods: A representative general population survey (N = 4004) including measures on personal stigma, perceived stigma, openness to help, perceived value of help, and socio-demographic variables was conducted in the four intervention and four control regions in a cross-sectional pre-post design. Results: The public awareness campaign was considerably more visible in Germany and Portugal compared to Ireland and Hungary. Visibility was further affected by age and years of schooling. Personal stigma, perceived stigma and openness toward professional help varied significantly across the four countries. Respondents in the intervention regions showed significantly less personal depression stigma than respondents in the control regions after the campaign. Respondents of the intervention region who were aware of the campaign reported more openness toward seeking professional help than respondents who were unaware of it. Conclusion: The OSPI-Europe awareness campaign was visible and produced some positive results. At the same time, it proved to be difficult to show strong, measurable and unambiguous effects, which is in line with previous studies. Public awareness campaigns as conducted within OSPI-Europe can contribute to improved attitudes and knowledge about depression in the general public and produce synergistic effects, in particular when the dissemination of awareness campaign materials is simultaneously reinforced by other intervention levels of a multi-level intervention programme. Limitations: The survey was cross-sectional and based on self-report, so no causal inferences could be drawn.

The purpose of this study was to examine differences and relationships in student definition and background characteristics, help seeking behaviors, academic and environmental variables between and among community college students at a single institution who successfully completed and those who did not complete online courses during a single term. An adapted version of Bean and Metzner's conceptual model of nontraditional student attrition provided the theoretical framework for the study. The results of data analysis revealed statistically significant differences between completers and noncompleters on the basis of definition, gender, ethnicity, experience and prior GPA. Statistically significant relationships were found between definition, ethnicity, gender, experience, prior GPA, orientation and completion and noncompletion. No statistically significant interactions were found between definition and experience and help seeking behaviors. No statistically significant differences, relationships or predictor variables were found by degree seeking, preassessment, or technical help seeking. Additional analyses by defining characteristics revealed statistically significant differences between completers and noncompleters on the basis of residency, age and enrollment status. Predictor variables found to be significant were definition, gender, experience, prior GPA and orientation. The odds of completion increased with nontraditional definition, female gender, higher prior GPA, and orientation participation. The odds of completion decreased with experience.