Stigma and self-efficacy as predictors of intention to seek help among American and Japanese college students

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine how people within individualistic and collectivistic cultures differ in their intentions to seek professional mental health help. As such, it was crucial to examine possible predictors of intention to seek help for mental health issues. We explored the cultural differences between American and Japanese students and their intentions to seek help from mental health professionals. A total of 155 undergraduate students from America and 116 undergraduate students from Japan participated in this quantitative study. Participants completed surveys regarding public stigma, self-stigma, self-efficacy, confidence in mental health professionals, and intention to seek help. A 2 × 2 MANOVA was performed to test the hypotheses. The American college students had less public and self-stigma and had more self-efficacy, confidence in mental health professionals, and intention to seek help compared to the Japanese college students. Interventions for eradicating public and self-stigma and increasing self-efficacy are further discussed.   Key words: Mental health, public stigma, self-stigma, self-efficacy, confidence in mental health professionals, intention to seek help, college students, cross-cultural research.