American College Students’ Views of Depression and Utilization of On-Campus Counseling Services

Abstract

BACKGROUND: College students are becoming increasingly depressed; however, many do not attend university counseling to seek help. OBJECTIVES: What is the relationship between young adults’ mental health literacy, perceived stigma of depression and treatment, knowledge of treatment benefits and risks, beliefs about alternative therapies, and influence of his or her social network with usage of university counseling? STUDY DESIGN: A survey was administered to N = 107 American undergraduate college students to ascertain the students’ understanding of depression and their views of counseling services on campus. RESULTS: Both likelihood of using alternative therapies and perceived discrimination of social network accounted for 18% of the variance for likelihood of participants seeking campus counseling. CONCLUSIONS: When a young adult college student perceives stigma or discrimination of depression from family and friends, then they may be less likely to seek university counseling for depression as well as possible applications with alternative therapies as a favorable option.