Understanding Students’ Help-Seeking Behaviours for Mental Health Needs at a Canadian University

• Author / Creator

  Taghizada, Mokhsum

• The university population is more sensitive to mental health problems than other populations, as in 2009, the Ontario College Health Association released a report indicating that university students were more likely to experience mental illness symptoms than non-university students. To address mental health problems, each institution in Alberta, regardless of size, has multiple groups involved in health promotion, including counselling centres, student affairs offices, disability offices and the student’ associations, to name a few. Given the variety of mental health services offered on university campuses, it remains an open question as to whether students facing mental health impairments truly understand or are aware of these services.

  This study aimed to understand the experiences of students facing mental health problems and their ability to connect with mental health resources at a Canadian University. Participants recruited for the study were students who faced a mental health concern involving depression, anxiety and or both. This study sought to answer the following research questions: (1) What is students’ awareness of mental health resources on- and off-campus? (2) What are the experiences of students seeking mental health resources on campus? (3) What are common factors encouraging or inhibiting students from seeking mental health support?

  This study used mixture of methods design. Data collection involved first administering surveys to the entire undergraduate student body and then recruiting 22 participants for semi-structured interviews. For the surveys, the inclusion criteria were students from the undergraduate population. During the survey, students completed an initial screening tool, a Mental Health Continuum (MHC). The MHC was divided into four colour blocks (green, yellow, orange, red) on a sliding scale. The healthy and adaptive coping level was represented by green, the reacting-mild and reversible category by yellow, the injured-more severe functioning impairment category by orange, and red for ill-clinical illnesses and disorders requiring concentrated medical care. The least severe section green was represented by the numerical value of 1, while the most severe section red was given a value of 4. Students who had a total MHC score of 12 or higher were recruited for the interview, as they were more likely looking to seek mental health services. All interviews were transcribed verbatim. Descriptive statistics and mean comparisons were used to initially analyze the survey data. Conventional content analysis method was used to analyze the qualitative transcriptions. The seven-step mixed-method analysis identified by Onwuegbuzie and Teddlie in 2003 was used to guide the integration of the quantitative and qualitative data.

  A total of 263 participants responded to the survey, with a majority identifying as women (74.9%) and between the ages of 18-22 (87.8%). Variety of faculties and undergraduate years were also represented within the survey, with most respondents studying within the Faculty of Science and Arts. There were similar percentages of respondents from the first year to the fourth year of undergraduate studies, with a small percentage of participants in their fifth year or greater. Overall, participants who identified as women had significantly higher MHC ratings than men. Moreover, students of varying undergraduate years had significant differences in their familiarity of mental health services on campus, with fourth year undergraduate students being most familiar with formal services on campus. In terms of help-seeking behaviour, familiarity nor MHC rating were clear indicators of help-seeking behaviour. It was determined through interviews that help-seeking behaviour was influenced by individual perception of mental health, individual perception of formal services on campus, environmental factors, and accessibility of mental health services on campus.

  This study has suggested that increased MHC ratings of participants does not guarantee increased help-seeking behaviour. Therefore, student’s help-seeking behaviour begins with their individual perception on their mental health status, whether their distress levels affect their daily functioning. The student’s environment played a role in determining their individual perception of mental health. An increased discussion of mental health and services on campus can lead to increased knowledge on the topic, leading to more positive help-seeking behaviour by students. As a result, the recommendations provided by the study are in relation to how mental health services can better clarify their purpose through promotion to catch students attention. Overall, this study can inform the University stakeholders on the current state of students’ interactions with mental health services and policies that can be implemented to improve the services outreach. Furthermore, the results of this study can impact future mental health policy development on campus and serve as a quality check on the current services that the University campus offers and its reach to students on campus.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Mental Health
  • Help-Seeking
  • Post-Secondary
  • University Mental Health
  • Campus Mental Health Resources

• Graduation date

  Fall 2022

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-njjg-qp80

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Library with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.