Abstract
Underutilization of mental health resources is a well-documented problem. Little is known about the help-seeking attitudes of Jamaican adolescents. The aim of this study was to examine predictors of psychological help-seeking attitudes among Jamaican adolescents ( N = 339). The individual determinants of health service utilization model suggests that several factors contribute to health care attitudes and utilization, including illness factors (beliefs about etiology of mental health issues and level of somatization), predisposing factors (gender, age, and opinions about mental illness), and enabling factors (socioeconomic status and geographical location). Data were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression. Results indicated that for this population, predisposing factors predict attitudes toward seeking professional mental health care. Specifically, increased age, decreased authoritarian beliefs, and increased benevolence predicted more positive attitudes toward seeking psychological help. After controlling for gender, these predisposing factors accounted for 14.6% of the variance. Interestingly, neither illness factors nor enabling factors predicted help-seeking attitudes. Practical implications for public health policy, education, and stigma reduction programs are discussed.
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