Abstract
The current study had two main objectives. The first was to investigate Botswana’s university students’ intentions to seek psychological help. The second was to investigate whether (a) Attitude Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help (ATSPPH), (b) Self-Stigma of Seeking Help (SSOSH), and (c) Social Stigma of Receiving Psychological Help (SSRPH) predicted the students’ intentions to seek psychological help. A total of N = 519 (283 females and 236 males) students from the University of Botswana completed the survey. Results indicated that generally, the students had moderate intentions of seeking psychological help. Multiple regression analysis revealed that of the three predictors, only ATSPPH and SSRPH significantly predicted intentions to seek psychological help. The current study is important because while it has been established that university students are a high-risk population for mental health problems, there is close to nothing documented on university students in Botswana. Findings of the current study will undoubtedly increase knowledge relating to psychological help-seeking and its predictors in Botswana and may inform interventions that aim to encourage young people to seek psychological or counseling help.
Highlights
Little is documented on Botswana’s university students’ intentions to seek psychological help and/or their attitudes toward seeking psychological help
The current study focused on Botswana university students because researchers have highlighted problems in accessing mental health services (Kurtz & Street, 2006) and on the decision to seek mental health services for individuals from minority ethnic groups and university students
The current study focused on intrinsic factors only that included a negative view of mental disorders, stigma associated with seeking or receiving mental health services, or limited knowledge about the potential benefits of psychotherapy
Summary
A convenient sample of total of N = 519 (283 females and 236 males) University of Botswana students completed the survey. Participants between the ages of 16 and comprised 38.7% of the sample, and 24 comprised 35.0% of the sample, 26 and comprised 5.0% of the sample, and above comprised 8.9% of the sample. 82% indicated they were Batswana, 2.1% indicated that they were other African nationalities, and 0.4% indicated that they were other nationalities. The majority (90.0%) of the participants were single, 9.6% were married, and 4% were widowed. Most of the participants did not have children (81.8%). The sample consisted of 147 first-year students, 139 second-year students, 97 third-year students, 106 fourthyear students, 28 fifth-year students, and 1 student who was in the sixth year. There were no group differences on any other sociodemographic variables
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