Self-Stigma of Seeking Help as a Predictor of Mental Well-Being Among Filipino College Students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69569/jip.2024.0680Keywords:
College students, Counseling, Mental well-being, Seeking help, Self-stigmaAbstract
The mental health of Filipino college students is a growing concern due to the challenges posed by academic pressures, social isolation, and emotional distress. Counseling interventions are crucial in addressing these challenges by equipping students with strategies that build resilience and personal agency. However, many students remain hesitant to seek professional help despite its availability due to the self- stigma associated with mental health support. This study addressed a crucial gap in the literature by exploring how stigma predicts mental health outcomes in the Filipino context, offering valuable insights for improving student well-being and academic success. The pervasiveness of mental health concerns among college students and understanding barriers to seeking professional help also present a timely context. This study used a quantitative, predictive correlational design to examine the relationship between self-stigma and mental well-being. G*Power was used to compute the sample size, and a purposive sampling technique was utilized to recruit college students (n=300) across higher education institutions in Pampanga, Philippines. The data was collected through standardized instruments, including the Self-Stigma of Seeking Help Scale and the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale. The findings revealed a weak and significant negative correlation (R=-0.17, p. <0.001) between self-stigma and mental well-being, indicating that higher levels of self-stigma are associated with lower levels of mental well-being. Moreover, the data revealed that 2.9% of self-stigma can predict mental well-being among college students. These findings highlighted that as college students experience higher self-stigma around seeking help, mental well-being tends to decrease, making the students less likely to seek psychological support and more vulnerable to mental health challenges. Higher educational institutions are encouraged to create an environment that fosters open discussions on mental health, making it more accepted and normalized. School counselors are encouraged to implement stigma-reduction programs to help students feel more comfortable seeking mental health support without fear of judgment.
Downloads
References
Adebayo, Y. O., Adesiyan, R. E., Amadi, C. S., Ipede, O., Karakitie, L. O., & Adebayo, K. T. (2024). Cross-cultural perspectives on mental health: Understanding variations and promoting cultural competence. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 23(01), 432-439. https://doi.org/10.30574/wjarr.2024.23.1.2040
AlSamhori, A. F., AlSamhori, J. F., AlSamhori, A. R. F., Abuaun, J., AlAwamleh, N., Saleh, R., ... & Qaswal, A. B. (2024). The stigma towards seeking help among university students: a cross-sectional study in Jordan. Middle East Current Psychiatry, 31(1), 36. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43045-024-00425-6
Auger, R. W., Abel, N. R., & Oliver, B. M. (2018). Spotlighting Stigma and Barriers: Examining Secondary Students’ Attitudes Toward School Counseling Services. Professional School Counseling, 22(1), 2156759X1881127. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759x18811275
Benites, O. G. C., Benítez, J. M. C., Guevara, D. D. R. O., & Arenas, D. C. P. (2023). Production Order Costing System: Coconut Food Producing and Processing Industry. Centro Sur, 7(2), 62-72. https://doi.org/10.37955/cs.v7i2.313
Conceição, V., Rothes, I., & Gusmão, R. (2022). The association between stigmatizing attitudes towards depression and help seeking attitudes in college students. PLoS ONE, 17(2), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263622
Dagani, J., Buizza, C., Ferrari, C., & Ghilardi, A. (2023). The role of psychological distress, stigma and coping strategies on help-seeking intentions in a sample of Italian college students.
BMC Psychology, 11(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-023-01171-w
Daniele, K., Gambacorti Passerini, M. B., Palmieri, C., & Zannini, L. (2022). Educational interventions to promote adolescents’ mental health: A scoping review. Health Education Journal,
81(5), 597-613. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2019.112702
Fox, A. B., & Earnshaw, V. A. (2023). The relationship between mental illness stigma and self-labeling. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 46(2), 127-136. https://doi.org/10.1037/prj0000552
Glinoga, M., Magpantay, C., & Calleja, M. (2022). Moderating effect of the impact of COVID-19 on the relationship of stigma and depression: A public mental health concern. Health Sciences Journal, 11(1), 38-47. https://ejournals.ph/article.php?id=18878
Guarneri, J. A., Oberleitner, D. E., & Connolly, S. (2019). Perceived stigma and self-stigma in college students: A literature review and implications for practice and research. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 41(1), 48-62. https://doi.org/10.1080/01973533.2018.1550723
Javed, A., Lee, C., Zakaria, H., Buenaventura, R. D., Cetkovich-Bakmas, M., Duailibi, K., ... & Azeem, M. W. (2021). Reducing the stigma of mental health disorders with a focus on low-and middle-income countries. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 58, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2021.102601
Johnson, D. A. P. (2020). Self-stigma and help-seeking in first generation students: The moderating role of empowerment. Department of Psychology, California State Univers ity San Bernardino, United Stated of America. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/1083
Kaur, A., Kallakuri, S., Kohrt, B. A., Heim, E., Gronholm, P. C., Thornicroft, G., & Maulik, P. K. (2021). Systematic review of interventions to reduce mental health stigma in India. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 55, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102466
Kim, S., Richardson, A., Werner, P., & Anstey, K. J. (2021). Dementia stigma reduction (DESeRvE) through education and virtual contact in the general public: A multi-arm factorial randomised controlled trial. Dementia, 20(6), 2152-2169. https://doi.org/10.1177/1471301220987374
Kirschner, B., Goetzl, M., & Curtin, L. (2020). Mental health stigma among college students: Test of an interactive online intervention. Journal of American College Health, 70(6), 1831-1838. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2020.1826492
Koutra, K., Pantelaiou, V., & Mavroeides, G. (2024). Breaking barriers: Unraveling the connection between mental health literacy, attitudes towards mental illness, and self-stigma of psychological help-seeking in university students. Psychology International, 6(2), 590-602. https://doi.org/10.3390/psycholint6020035
Larrahondo, B. F., Valencia, J. G., Martínez-Villalba, A. M. R., Ospina, J. P. Z., & Aguirre-Acevedo, D. C. (2021). Validation of the Self Stigma of Seeking Help (SSOSH) scale in a population of Colombian medical students. Revista Colombiana de psiquiatria (English ed.), 50(2), 82-91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rcpeng.2020.01.002
Li, H., Zheng, L., Le, H., Zhuo, L., Wu, Q., Ma, G., & Tao, H. (2020). The mediating role of internalized stigma and shame on the relationship between COVID-19 related discrimination and mental health outcomes among back-to-school students in Wuhan. International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public Health, 17(24), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17249237
Long, R., Halvorson, M., & Lengua, L. J. (2021). A mindfulness-based promotive coping program improves well-being in college undergraduates. Anxiety, Stress, & Coping, 34(6), 690-703. https://doi.org/10.1080/10615806.2021.1895986
Maeshima, L. S., & Parent, M. C. (2020). Mental health stigma and professional help-seeking behaviors among Asian American and Asian international students. Journal of American College Health, 70(6), 1761-1767. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2020.1819820
Martinez, A. B., Co, M., Lau, J., & Brown, J. S. L. (2020). Filipino help-seeking for mental health problems and associated barriers and facilitators: a systematic review. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 55(11), 1397–1413. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-020-01937-2
McDermott, R. C., Cheng, H. L., Wong, J., Booth, N., Jones, Z., & Sevig, T. (2017). Hope for help-seeking: A positive psychology perspective of psychological help-seeking intentions. The Counseling Psychologist, 45(2), 237-265. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000017693398
Mills, H., Mulfinger, N., Raeder, S., Rüsch, N., Clements, H., & Scior, K. (2020). Self-help interventions to reduce self-stigma in people with mental health problems: A systematic literature review. Psychiatry Research, 284, 1-39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2019.112702
Morena, A. L., Gaias, L. M., & Wang, Y. (2024). Profiles of mental health help-seeking barriers in college students. Stigma and Health. https://doi.org/10.1037/sah0000517 Newhart, S. (2023). Social predictors of psychological well-being and symptoms of college students. Journal of American College Health, 1-14.
https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2023.2217717
Ng Fat, L., Scholes, S., Boniface, S., Mindell, J., & Stewart-Brown, S. (2017). Evaluating and establishing national norms for mental wellbeing using the short Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (SWEMWBS): findings from the Health Survey for England. Quality of Life Research, 26(5), 1129-1144. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-016-1454-8
Omondi, K. (2024). Mental Health Stigma and its Impact on Help-Seeking Behavior. International Journal of Humanity and Social Sciences, 3(3), 15–29. https://doi.org/10.47941/ijhss.2082 Onie, S., Kirana, A. C., Mustika, N. P., Adelsa, V., & Ibrahim, R. (2021). Public Stigma and Self-Stigma for Help Seeking: The Moderating Roles of Family income and Education. PsyArXiv
Preprints, 1-6. https://doi.org/10.31234/OSF.IO/5E4PC
Parungao, A. A. (2024). Anxiety, Depression, Coping Styles, and Perceived Social Support Among University Students: A Mediation and Moderation Analyses. Journal of Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 2(9), 219-233. https://doi.org/10.69569/jip.2024.0343
Prim, L., Janaban, K. W., Rungduin, T., & Rungduin, D. (2023). Self And Others Stigma, Face-To-Face and Online Attitude, And Intentions to Seek Counseling: A Structural Equation Model. International Journal of Education, Psychology and Counseling, 8(51), 366–380. https://doi.org/10.35631/ijepc.851026
Punla, N. F. D., Regalado, D. R. B., & Navarro, R. M. (2022). Perceived Social Support as moderator between self-stigma and help-seeking attitudes. Globus: An International Journal of Medical Science, Engineering & Technology, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.46360/globus.met.320221014
Rubio, R. R. M. A. (2023). The Filipino Concept of Mental Illness and Nurses’ Attitudes: A Scoping Review. The Malaysian Journal of Nursing, 15(1), 126-137. https://doi.org/10.31674/mjn.2023.v15i01.015
Sheehan, K. (2021). Identifying and addressing mental health self‐stigma. The Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter, 37(11), 1-4. https://doi.org/10.1002/cbl.30581 Sheikhan, N. Y., Henderson, J. L., Halsall, T., Daley, M., Brownell, S., Shah, J., ... & Hawke, L. D. (2023). Stigma as a barrier to early intervention among youth seeking mental health services
in Ontario, Canada: a qualitative study. BMC Health Services Research, 23(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-023-09075-6
Shim, Y. R., Eaker, R., & Park, J. (2022). Mental health education, awareness, and stigma regarding mental illness among college students. Journal of Mental Health and Clinical Psychology, 6(2), 6–15. https://doi.org/10.29245/2578-2959/2022/2.1258
Singh, S., Melendez, K., & Sezginis, N. (2021). Examining the effect of discrimination and stigma on utilization of mental health services among college students. Journal of American College Health, 71(8), 2398-2405. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2021.1970561
Smith, A. L., Zheng, T., & Gelman, A. (2023). Prediction scoring of data-driven discoveries for reproducible research. Statistics and Computing, 33(11), 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11222-022-10154-7
Thai, B. T. H., & Trang, N. T. N. (2024). The Mediating Role of Self-stigma of Seeking Help in the Relationship between Perceived Occupational Prestige and Mental Health: A Cross- Sectional Study on Medical Doctors. Journal of Applied Social Science, 18(3), 331–345. https://doi.org/10.1177/19367244241264249
Vidourek, R. A., King, K. A., Nabors, L. A., & Merianos, A. L. (2014). Students’ benefits and barriers to mental health help-seeking. Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine, 2(1), 1009– 1022. https://doi.org/10.1080/21642850.2014.963586
Vogel, D. L., Wade, N. G., & Haake, S. (2006). Measuring the self-stigma associated with seeking psychological help. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53(3), 325-337. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.53.3.325
Yablon, Y. B. (2018). Israeli Arab Minority Students’ Help Seeking for Bullying from School Counselors. The Counseling Psychologist, 46(3), 333–350. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000018764108
Yadav, M. (2023). Understanding and Addressing Youth Mental Health: Challenges and Strategies. Edumania-An International Multidisciplinary Journal, 1(3), 232-243. https://doi.org/10.59231/edumania/9010
Yap, M. B. H., Wright, A., & Jorm, A. F. (2010). The influence of stigma on young people’s help-seeking intentions and beliefs about the helpfulness of various sources of help. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 46(12), 1257–1265. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-010-0300-5
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of Interdisciplinary Perspectives
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
