The Role of Personality Traits and Barriers to Mental Health Treatment Seeking Among College Students

Many college students experience a mental health problem yet do not seek treatment from a mental health professional. In the present study, we examined how perceived barriers (stigma perceptions, negative attitudes about treatment, and perceptions of practical barriers), as well as the Big Five pers...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychological services 2017-11, Vol.14 (4), p.513-523
Main Authors: Jennings, Kristen S., Goguen, Kandice N., Britt, Thomas W., Jeffirs, Stephanie M., Wilkes, Jack R., Brady, Ashley R., Pittman, Rebecca A., DiMuzio, Danielle J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Barriers
College Students
Female
Five factor model
Five Factor Personality Model
Health Care Seeking Behavior
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Health problems
Help seeking behavior
Human
Humans
Male
Mental disorders
Mental Disorders - therapy
Mental health
Mental health professionals
Mental Health Services
Neuroticism
Patient Acceptance of Health Care
Perceptions
Personality
Personality Traits
Self esteem
Social Stigma
Stigma
Student Attitudes
Students
Treatment Barriers
Universities
Young Adult
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Summary:Many college students experience a mental health problem yet do not seek treatment from a mental health professional. In the present study, we examined how perceived barriers (stigma perceptions, negative attitudes about treatment, and perceptions of practical barriers), as well as the Big Five personality traits, relate to treatment seeking among college students reporting a current mental health problem. The sample consisted of 261 college students, 115 of which reported experiencing a current problem. Results of a series of logistic regressions revealed that perceived stigma from others (OR = .32), self-stigma (OR = .29), negative attitudes about treatment (OR = .27), and practical barriers (OR = .34) were all associated with a lower likelihood of having sought treatment among students experiencing a problem. Of the five-factor model personality traits, only Neuroticism was associated with a higher likelihood of having sought treatment when experiencing a mental health problem (OR = 2.71). When we considered all significant predictors in a final stepwise conditional model, only self-stigma, practical barriers, and Neuroticism remained significant unique predictors. Implications for addressing barriers to treatment and encouraging treatment seeking among college students are discussed.
ISSN:1541-1559
1939-148X
DOI:10.1037/ser0000157