Mental help-seeking refers to the process in which individuals in need of psychological support consult mental health professionals. Although many people experience psychological difficulties, they often refrain from seeking professional help. Previous studies have shown that avoiding help-seeking may lead to negative outcomes through various mechanisms. Understanding individuals' attitudes and intentions toward help-seeking is therefore crucial.
The present study aimed to examine the mediating role of mental help-seeking intentions (relational, traumatic, and affective-behavioral problems) in the relationship between anticipated utility of disclosure expectations and attitudes toward mental help-seeking in a community sample.
The sample consisted of 434 participants (291 women) aged between 18 and 63 years (M = 28.33). The anticipated utility of disclosure expectations was measured using the Anticipated Utility (AU) subscale of the Disclosure Expectations Scale (DES). Mental help-seeking intentions were assessed with the relational, traumatic, and affective-behavioral subscales of Intentions to Seek Counseling Inventory (ISCI). Attitudes toward seeking mental help were measured by the total score of the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale - Short Form (ATSPPHS-SF). Parallel mediation analysis was conducted using Hayes' PROCESS macro (Model 4), controlling for gender, education level, and socioeconomic status.
Findings revealed that the ISCI-Relational subscale mediated the relationship between DES-Anticipated Utility and ATSPPHS-SF. In contrast, the ISCI-Traumatic and ISCI-Affective-Behavioral subscales did not show a mediating role. These results highlight the differentiated role of problem type in shaping attitudes toward help-seeking. It is possible that distinct decision-making processes are involved when it comes to traumatic and affective-behavioral problems. Further research is needed to better understand help-seeking behavior for traumatic experiences and affective-behavioral difficulties in community samples.