ERIC Number: EJ1120199
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1927-6044
EISSN: N/A
The Development, Validity, and Reliability of the Barriers to Seeking Psychological Help Scale for College Students
Topkaya, Nursel; Sahin, Ertugrul; Meydan, Betül
International Journal of Higher Education, v6 n1 p48-62 2017
The aim of this study was to develop a scale to determine the barriers affecting psychological help-seeking in college students. In line with this purpose, the validity and reliability of the scale were examined in five different studies. Exploratory factor analysis results suggested that the scale consists of five dimensions, labeled as "fear of being stigmatized by society," "trust in the mental health professional," "difficulties in self-disclosure," "perceived devaluation" and "lack of knowledge." The confirmatory factor analysis cross-validated the scale's five-factor structure on a new college students' sample. The convergent and divergent validity of the scale were also supported with theoretically and empirically expected correlation with self-concealment, self-stigma, and attitudes towards seeking psychological help. Moreover, the scale was found to have an adequate stability coefficient across three weeks and appropriate levels of internal consistency coefficient reliability for each of the subscales in two different samples. These initial findings show that the Barriers to Seeking Psychological Help Scale is a valid and reliable instrument to measure barriers related to psychological help-seeking for college students. Future studies can examine the validity and reliability of the scale on different samples and cultures, as well as predictive validity on college students' decisions to seek counseling.
Descriptors: Validity, Reliability, Barriers, College Students, Foreign Countries, Factor Analysis, Factor Structure, Correlation, Help Seeking, Item Analysis, Mental Health, Mental Disorders, Attitude Measures, Predictor Variables, Statistical Analysis, Likert Scales
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Turkey
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A