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The Theory of Planned Behavior as it predicts potential intention to seek mental health services for depression among college students.
Published Web Location
http://10.0.4.56/07448481.2016.1207646No data is associated with this publication.
Abstract
Background
Between 9.5% and 31.3% of college students suffer from depression (American college health association national college health assessment II: reference group executive summary spring 2013. Amer. Coll. Health Assoc. 2013; Eagan K, Stolzenberg EB, Ramirez JJ, Aragon, MC, Suchard, RS, Hurtado S. The American freshman: national norms fall 2014. Higher Educ. Res. Inst.; 2015). Universities need to understand the factors that relate to care-seeking behavior.Objective
Across 3 studies, to relate attitudes, social norms, and perceived behavioral control to intention to seek mental health services, and to investigate barriers to care-seeking.Participants
University college students (N = 845, 64% female, 26% male, and 10% unspecified).Methods
New measures were created in Studies 1 and 2, and were examined using structural equation modeling in Study 3.Results
Partially consistent with the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, I, Fishbein, M. Understanding Attitudes and Predicting Social Behavior. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall; 1980), a model with an excellent fit revealed that more positive attitudes about care and higher perceived behavioral control directly predicted higher intention to seek mental health services.Conclusions
Educating college students about mental health disorders and treatments, enhancing knowledge about available services, and addressing limited access to long-term care might improve treatment rates for students suffering from depression.Many UC-authored scholarly publications are freely available on this site because of the UC's open access policies. Let us know how this access is important for you.