Intention to seek professional and non-professional emotional help among Jewish young adults in Israel.

Abstract

Young adulthood is a major and significant stage in life encompassing various life transitions which may increase the risk of developing emotional crises. Receiving mental health treatment and turning to nonprofessional resources for support can ease such emotional burdens. However, many of those in need of such help do not turn to professional services and, rather, tend to rely on themselves. The aim of this study was to examine the contribution of attitudes towards seeking professional emotional help, self-stigma, anticipated risk, anticipated utility, and social support to the intention to seek professional and nonprofessional emotional help among Jewish young adults in Israel. Participants included 282 Jewish Israeli young adults aged 18-30, recruited in person or online. They filled out a self-report questionnaire, between March and June 2017, regarding intention to seek professional and non-professional emotional help, attitudes towards seeking professional emotional help, self-stigma towards seeking professional emotional help, anticipated risk and anticipated utility of self-disclosure when seeking professional help, perceived social support and sociodemographic questions. A path analysis model was used to analyse the data. Intention to seek professional help was positively associated with positive attitudes towards seeking professional emotional help and anticipated utility and negatively with self-stigma and social support. Intention to seek nonprofessional help was positively associated with anticipated utility and social support and negatively with anticipated risk. In addition, indirect effects were found between religious affiliation and previous mental health treatment, and intention to seek professional help, through the mediating effects of attitudes and anticipated utility. Interventions for increasing intention to seek professional and nonprofessional support are important and should include reference to attitudes, anticipated utility, anticipated risk and self-stigma, and should promote mutual support and highlight the importance of support from close ones. In addition, a model for predicting intention to seek non-professional help should be developed.