Help seeking is a term that is generally used to the behaviour of actively seeking help from other people (Rickwood, Deane, Wilson & Ciarrochi, 2005). It is about communicating with other people to obtain help in terms of understanding, advice, information, treatment and general support in response to a problem or distressing experience. Help seeking is a form of coping that relies on other people, and is therefore often based on social relationships and interpersonal skills. Help can be sought from a range of sources varying in their level of formality. Informal help seeking is from informal social relationships, such as friends and family. Formal help seeking is from professional sources of help including professionals who have a recognised role and appropriate training in providing help and advice (Rickwood et al., 2005).
Specific help seeking behaviour for medical and psychiatric complaints has been conceptualised as a process through which an individual passes (Jordan & Oei, 1989). Jordan and Oei (1989) described a sequence of events, actions and reactions, self appraisals and appraisals by others, and suggested that for any individual, the point at which some form of help is sought represents a stage in the process that is dependent upon a complex interplay of intra and extra personal influences which may include
personal, social and cultural factors. The most frequently cited trigger across all help seeking experiences by women in a United States study was a change in physiology, followed closely by the influence of others (Jordan & Oei, 1989). Physical damage and / or negative social or personal consequences have also been identified as major influences on the decision to seek help (Millstein & Halpern-Felsher, 2002). Lay beliefs about the relative importance of receiving professional help, the stigma associated with treatment and a preference for implementing other coping methods in managing illness may also be of particular relevance for help seeking behaviours for psychological problems (Conner & Norman, 1996; Rickwood & Braithwaite, 1994; Ross & Hardy, 1999).
Social psychological research has attempted to identify the variables that moderate the relative self-threat associated with help, which determine an individual’s willingness or reluctance to engage in help seeking behaviour (Nadler, 1987). Early studies such as that by Tessler and Schwartz (1972) centred on the effects of task and context characteristics and found that individuals are more willing to seek help when the helping context allows them to stay anonymous or when they believe that the task on which they need help reflects inadequacy on a non-ego relevant, rather than an ego relevant psychological dimension. The ego relevance of the aid related task determines whether or not seeking help has self-threat potential. Only when the task on which one needs help is ego-central does seeking help have an ego threat potential (Nadler, 1987). Nadler (1987) went on to suggest that when seeking help reflects a perceived ego-central dimension, such as intelligence, the implications of relative inferiority associated with seeking help are potentially self threatening. Essentially this research suggests that individuals avoid seeking help because of a perceived
threat to their view of themselves. Raviv, Sills, Raviv and Wilansky (2000) concurred that self-image is an important personality factor modifying help seeking behaviour. Carlton and Deane (2000) explored additional personality dimensions of not seeking professional help and suggested that ‘help negation’ was the refusal to accept or access available helping resources as a likely function or manifestation of patient hopelessness, pessimism and cynicism regarding efficacy of treatment.
Another line of research such as that by Ciarrochi, Deane and Wilson (2002) has examined the effects of characteristics of the recipient on his or her willingness to seek help and found that both the recipient’s personality and demographic characteristics will influence this behaviour. For example, an individual’s self esteem and achievement motivation, as well as their social class and sex predict differential levels of help seeking (Brown, 2002; Haley, Drake, Bentall & Lewis, 2003; Nadler, 1983).
Research has generally demonstrated that engaging in specific help seeking behaviours is primarily mediated by the presence of need, whereas overall attitude to help seeking reflects a more general propensity to seek care (Lyu, 1999). Need predictor variables for psychological problems included an individual’s self- assessment of having mental health problems and their level of psychological distress. Rickwood and Braithwaite (1994) stated that level of psychological distress significantly predicted professional consultation. Various authors including Ciarrochi, Wilson, Deane and Rickwood (2003) have suggested that many individuals could accommodate numerous symptoms of psychological distress for some time without seeking help, and that in fact it is only when they encounter the added stress of other
factors, for example, in their work or personal life, that they decide to seek professional help (Carlton & Deane, 2000, Parslow & Jorm, 2000, Rickwood & Braithwaite, 1994). Parslow and Jorm (2000) went onto argue that need factors often override predisposing and enabling factors in explaining levels and patterns of utilisation of mental health services (Parslow & Jorm, 2000). However, despite the potential for need factors to override other factors Lyu (1999) stated that it was important for treatment outcomes to learn more about the characteristics of help- seekers, their motivations, their help seeking processes, and the kinds of help they seek.