Factors Affecting College Students’ Intention to Seek Professional Psychological Help: Focused on the Theory of Planned Behavior

Abstract

Purpose: To identify influences and pathways on college students’ intentions to seek professional pyschological help, focusing on the theory of planned behavior.Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted using a structured questionnaire. The study sample comprised 428 college students who were attending a 4-year university located in Seoul and Gyeonggi, Korea. Collected data were checked through path analysis using SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 20.0.Results: Factors that directly influenced college students’ professional psychological help-seeking intentions significantly were attitude toward seeking professional help and perceived behavioral control. Subjective norms and self-stigma indirectly affected the intention to seek professional help for psychological problems, mediated by the attitude toward seeking professional help. These variables were found to explain 11.2% of college students’ intention to seek professional psychological help. Variables that directly influenced college students’attitudes toward seeking professional help were subjective norms and self-stigma. These variables were found to explain 32.3% of college students’ attitudes toward seeking professional help.Conclusion: It is necessary to have a positive attitude toward pursuing professional psychological help in nursing interventions to increase college students’intention to seek professional help for psychological problems.