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<p>  </p> <p>To fully understand the nature of help, we need to study it from both the helper’s and the recipient’s perspectives, yet the recipient's perspective of help has been often overlooked. This study aimed to identify and measure people’s general beliefs about seeking and receiving help. The first study used thematic analysis to identify broad belief themes from 81 participants’ written thoughts and experiences of help. The five belief themes were then used to generate a pool of items to measure general beliefs about seeking and receiving help. The second study used a split-half sample to assess the factor structure and identify items to remove using EFA and CFA. Ten distinct, though related, subscales of the five belief themes were retained, and these items were then assessed through a content validation study, which supported the definitional correspondence and distinctiveness of the items to their scales. While further validation of the measure needs to be conducted, there is promising evidence of the scale’s content coverage compared to previous scales, reliability, and content validity of the identified subscales. </p>

Utilizing the theory of planned behavior, I examined the variables that affect Chinese individuals' help-seeking intention. A total of 251 Chinese individuals participated in this study. Results showed that the variables in the theory of planned behavior accounted for 16% of the variance in help-seeking intention. Specifically, attitude (r = .22, p < .001) and perceived behavioral control (r = .22, p < .001) were found to be significant predictors of help-seeking intention. Based on these results, mental health professionals can design outreach interventions, such as psychoeducational programs, to improve Chinese individuals' help-seeking attitude and perceived behavioral control in an attempt to increase mental health service utilization. Additionally, counselors can discuss with clients' their attitude and perceived behavioral control regarding seeking counseling in an attempt to assist clients in being committed to the counseling process.

In the United States alone, over 2 million (or a little more than 3%) of children are estimated to face the death of a parent before they turn 18 (Goodman, 2006)! The numbers only grow when the death of a grandparent, relative, sibling, or classmate are included. Death is a very real and lasting event. Most of these children will have to return to life as it was before in some way or another. For most of these children, that means returning to school. Sadly, in a teacher's undergraduate education they receive little or no formal training in how to help a child deal with tragedy or the death of a loved one. This leaves a major gap in a teacher's knowledge of how to help and of what they can do. The aim of this small study was to help bridge those gaps. In the study elementary school teachers, parents or caregivers of students who had lost a loved one while in elementary school and students who were grieving the loss of a loved one while in elementary school were recruited and asked to share about their experiences and personal knowledge of grieving in an elementary school setting. These participants were asked to answer a short survey and share their thoughts and feelings. Through surveys and interviews the researcher found that most students and parents were satisfied with the naturally response of teacher who intervened in students' lives during a time of grief. Communication was reported by all entities to be the most effective way to help; communication between home and school and between the teacher and the grieving student. From the responses of teachers, caregivers and students a quick reference guild was created that teachers can use in the classroom when they have a grieving student.

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Uppsatsen utgör en vetenskaplig bearbetning på hur en specifik kundkrets interagerar med manualer i digital miljö och hur man kan designa integrerade hjälpfunktioner till ett datasystem. Företaget Aviolinx har utvecklat flyghanteringssystemet RAIDO, som använts som case i denna studie. Forskningsfrågan som ställs är hur man kan designa integrerade hjälpfunktioner i ett datasystem så att användaren får rätt information vid rätt tillfälle, i rätt mängd. Genom benchmarking jämfördes olika webbsidor och programs hjälpfunktioner för att dels se hur andra har löst frågan men också för att hitta mönster och olikheter. Mönstren sammanställdes i vad författarna kallar för de fem P:na, som står för positionering, punktlighet, precision, påbörjan av användandet och parallellitet. Vidare undersöks brukskontexten och vilka situationer som kan uppstå.Utifrån dessa generella mönster, observation av användandet och tidigare forskning inom området framställdes pappersprototyper som testades på Aviolinx kunder. Baserat på resultat från testerna valdes två hjälpfunktioner ut och en digital prototyp framställdes. Resultatet blev ett hjälpcenter som fungerar som en databas där användaren kan söka fram dels information i form av förklaringar men även som steg för steg-hjälp. Som kompletterande hjälp implementerades även informationsikoner på specifika platser, för att ge kort beskrivning på flygtermer och hjälp vid korta processer. Studiens slutsats är att användarcentrerad design måste ligga som grund i utformandet av integrerade hjälpfunktioner i ett datasystem utvecklat för ett specifikt syfte. I just denna brukskontext där kritiska situationer kan uppstå, ligger vår fokus på punktlighet. / The thesis comprehends a scientific process of how a specific range of users interact with manuals in a digital environment and how to design embedded help tools for a computer system. The company Aviolinx (in Malmö, Sweden) have developed an airline management system which is used as a case for this study. The problem definition is how embedded help tools can be designed in a computer system, so that the user gets the right information, at the right time, in the right amount. Through benchmarking, help tools on different websites and programs were compared to see how others have done, and to find patterns and differences. The patterns that were found, were compiled into what the authors call de fem P:na (in translation: the five P’s), featured as positioning, punctuality, precision, the outset of use and analogy. Further, the user context is examined and the types of situations that might occur.From the identified patterns and statements from earlier research in the field, paper prototypes were created and tested on Aviolinx’s customers. Based on the results from the tests, two help tools were chosen for further development and a digital prototype was made. It resulted in a help center which functions as a database with information where the user can search for help, in shape of descriptions and step- by-step assistance. As a completing help tool, information icons were applied in specific positions in the interface, to allow the user to view short descriptions of e.g. flight expressions or help within dialog windows. The conclusion of the studies is that user-centered design must form the basis of the design of the embedded help tools, in special purpose software. In this particular user context where critical situations may arise, the focus is on punctuality.

The major purpose of this study was to test a hypothesized structural model that included many of the variables that have been found to influence people's attitudes toward seeking psychological help and investigate if these variables and their inter-relationships are different for young versus older adults. This study offers a more comprehensive investigation than previous research by testing and modifying two structural models of help-seeking attitudes, one for young adults and one for older adults. This makes it possible to examine how these variables differ for the two age groups.

The principal aim of this thesis was to further understanding of the factors influencing decisions to seek treatment for Major Depressive Disorder. A review of the literature (Chapter 2) revealed a number of factors associated with help-seeking for mental health disorders. However, there was no existing theoretical model of decisions to seek treatment for MDD, and there was limited understanding of the psychological and emotional processes involved in seeking treatment for depressive symptoms. In Study 1 (Chapter 3), a qualitative study explored participants’ accounts of seeking treatment for MDD, which resulted in the development of a theoretical model of help-seeking. This model highlighted the role of identity and goals in decisions to seek treatment for MDD. Subsequent studies in this thesis sought to test predictions made by this model. Study 2 (Chapter 4) explored the relationship between identity and goal conflict and depressed individuals’ acknowledgement of depressive symptoms and perceived need for treatment. Findings of this study suggested that greater identity conflict, but not goal, conflict was associated with reduced acknowledgement of depressive symptoms and less perceived need for treatment. Study 3 (Chapter 5) sought to replicate this relationship, and also tested the extent to which identity as a depressed person and socio-cognitive models of health behaviour could predict (i) intentions to seek treatment for depression and (ii) current treatment seeking. This study found that identity conflict was associated with reduced acknowledgement of depressive symptoms, but failed to replicate the relationship between identity conflict and perceived need for treatment for depression. However, greater identity as a depressed person was associated with both current treatment seeking and greater intentions to seek help. Analyses demonstrated that the Theory of Planned Behaviour and the Health Belief Model predicted current help-seeking and help-seeking intentions, but identity as a depressed person explained an additional significant proportion of the variance. A unified model, drawing on these two theories and incorporating identity was found to be the best fit in accounting for intentions to seek help for depression. The findings of Study 4 (Chapter 6) demonstrated that identity as a depressed person was also a significant predictor of prospective help-seeking behaviour for MDD. In this study, the majority of factors from the Theory of Planned Behaviour and Health Belief Model, extended to include identity, predicted help-seeking behaviour indirectly via intentions to seek help. However, intentions to seek help only predicted a small proportion of the variance in help-seeking behaviour, and the findings revealed that a subsample of factors, including identity, directly predicted help-seeking behaviour. The final study sought to use an online focus group to develop a measure of symptom avoidance in depressed individuals. This study faced methodological difficulties, and Chapter 7 reflects on the use of online focus groups to explore patient experiences of illness. The findings of this study highlighted participant experiences of using an online focus group method to discuss personal experiences of MDD, and this chapter provides specific guidance for other researchers planning to use this method in the context of health research. The implications of the findings of this thesis are discussed in Chapter 8, alongside recommendations for future help-seeking research.

Objective(s). An increasing demand exists for psychological interventions to increase recovery from depression and anxiety in people with long-term physical health conditions (LTCs). Guided self-help (GSH) may meet this need, however, there is limited evidence of GSH’s appropriateness for people with LTCs. Design. A mixed-methods study using qualitative interviews with people with stroke and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), and a quantitative survey of professionals who support guided self-help, explored opinions about whether self-help is appropriate, and whether suggested adaptations varied across LTCs. Results. Opinions varied about the appropriateness of standard self-help and adaptations required. Illness beliefs may help explain differences between the two LTCs and individual interviewees. The majority of professionals surveyed felt competent supporting people with LTCs, and reported having access to appropriate self-help material. Conclusions. Recommendations for improving the appropriateness of contents of guided self-help for people with LTCs are provided. Supporting professionals need relevant knowledge and skills to integrate information about the LTC into the intervention, and offer flexible, personalised delivery to support participation.

In any year, one in four British adults will experience a mental disorder (Singleton, Bumpstead, O’Brien, Lee, & Meltzer, 2001), but barriers to accessing treatment remain, one being fear of stigmatization. In this study perceptions of the stigma associated with mental illness were experimentally manipulated and perceived public stigma of help-seeking, attitudes to mental illness, self-stigma, and attitudes to help-seeking were measured. Results indicated that lowering perceived social stigma of mental illness reduced perceived public stigma attached to help-seeking, but also resulted in less positive attitudes to help-seeking, when compared to a neutral condition. The relationship between perceived societal stigma of mental illness and attitudes to help-seeking was mediated by perceived public stigma of seeking psychological help. This research raises questions about the effect of anti-stigma campaigns, which aim to change perceptions about stigma but may have a negative effect on attitudes to help-seeking.