How Medical Students’ Compassionate Values Influence Help-Seeking Barriers

Abstract

Theory: Despite high rates of psychiatric illnesses, medical students and medical professionals often avoid psychological help. Stigma may prevent medical students from seeking psychological help when experiencing distress, which may hinder their job performance and mental health. Compassionate values—preferred principles that guide attitudes and behaviors to focus on the wellness of others—may be a relevant predictor of medical students’ perceptions of psychological help. The present study examined the association between medical students’ compassionate values, help-seeking stigma, and help-seeking attitudes in a convenience sample of medical students. Hypotheses: Rating compassionate values as more important than self-interested values will be associated with less stigma, which in turn will be associated with more positive help-seeking attitudes. Method: There were 220 medical students in their 2nd year of medical training who were recruited in-class and through e-mail between January and March of 2017 at Des Moines University. Students were provided an anonymous online link to a survey composed of validated measures assessing values, psychological distress, and stigma and attitudes related to psychological help. Results: The survey response rate was 41%, leaving a final sample of 91. For every 1 SD increase in the relative importance of compassionate values over self-interested values, help-seeking stigma decreased 0.40 SDs, and help-seeking attitudes increased 0.23 SDs. Conclusions: Prioritizing compassionate values more strongly than self-interested values is associated with medical students’ perceiving psychological help-seeking more positively.