Mental Help-Seeking Barriers among Young Adults in Tertiary Education in Malaysia

Nurman Shah Nuwawi; Zamzaliza Abdul  Mulud; Rizki Fitryasari

doi:10.21834/e-bpj.v10i34.7361

Authors

Nurman Shah Nuwawi Centre for Nursing Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Puncak Alam Campus, 42300 Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
Zamzaliza Abdul Mulud Centre for Nursing Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Puncak Alam Campus, 42300 Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
Rizki Fitryasari Faculty of Nursing, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v10i34.7361

Keywords:

Young Adults, Professional Mental Health Services, Depressive Symptoms, Mental Help-Seeking

Abstract

While depression is highly associated with adverse consequences, mental health professional services are still underutilised by young adults. Thus, this qualitative study aims to explore the barriers to professional mental help-seeking among young adults with depression symptoms while seeking help for their mental health concerns. Through reflexive thematic analysis of interview transcripts, the study found (1) expression problem; (2) attitude; (3) fear; (4) presence of alternative support; (5) mental health literacy (MHL); and (6) instrumental barrier as perceived barriers for young adults while seeking help from mental health professionals (MHP).

References

Adams, C., Gringart, E., & Strobel, N. (2022). Explaining adults’ mental health help-seeking through the lens of the theory of planned behavior: a scoping review. Systematic Reviews, 11(1).

Barbayannis, G., Bandari, M., Zheng, X., Baquerizo, H., Pecor, K. W., & Ming, X. (2022). Academic Stress and Mental Well-Being in College Students: Correlations, Affected Groups, and COVID-19. Frontiers in Psychology, 13.

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101.

Bulhões, C., Ramos, E., Severo, M., Dias, S., & Barros, H. (2021). Trajectories of depressive symptoms through adolescence and young adulthood: social and health outcomes. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 30(1), 65–74.

Burke, L., John, M., & Hanna, P. (2022). A qualitative exploration of how young men in the UK perceive and experience informal help-seeking for mental health difficulties. Children and Youth Services Review, 137.

Creswell, J.W., & Poth, C.N. (2018). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches (4th ed.). Sage Publication, Inc

Davis Weaver, N., Bertolacci, G. J., Rosenblad, E., Ghoba, S., Cunningham, M., Ikuta, K. S., Moberg, M. E., Mougin, V., Han, C., Wool, E. E., Abate, Y. H., Adewuyi, H. O., Adnani, Q. E. S., Adzigbli, L. A., Afolabi, A. A., Agampodi, S. B., Ahinkorah, B. O., Ahmad, A., Ahmad, D., … Naghavi, M. (2025). Global, regional, and national burden of suicide, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. The Lancet Public Health, 10(3), e189–e202.

Dhillon, S., Videla-Nash, G., Foussias, G., Segal, Z. V., & Zakzanis, K. K. (2020). On the nature of objective and perceived cognitive impairments in depressive symptoms and real-world functioning in young adults. Psychiatry Research, 287.

Eigenhuis, E., Waumans, R. C., Muntingh, A. D. T., Westerman, M. J., van Meijel, M., Batelaan, N. M., & van Balkom, A. J. L. M. (2021). Facilitating factors and barriers in help-seeking behaviour in adolescents and young adults with depressive symptoms: A qualitative study. PLoS ONE, 16(3 March 2021), 1–20.

Garrey, S. K., Takemoto, E., Petrsoric, L., & Gargano, L. M. (2022). Self-Efficacy and Mental Health Help-Seeking Behavior of World Trade Center Health Registry Enrollees, 2015–2016. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(12).

Guest, G., Namey, E., & Chen, M. (2020). A simple method to assess and report thematic saturation in qualitative research. PLoS ONE, 15(5).

Institute for Public Health. (2023). National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2023: Non-communicable Diseases and Healthcare Demand - Key Findings.

Ishikawa, A., Rickwood, D., Bariola, E., & Bhullar, N. (2023). Autonomy versus support: self-reliance and help-seeking for mental health problems in young people. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 58(3), 489–499.

Lauzier-Jobin, F., & Houle, J. (2022). A comparison of formal and informal help in the context of mental health recovery. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 68(4), 729–737.

Leventhal, H., Phillips, L. A., & Burns, E. (2016). The Common-Sense Model of Self-Regulation (CSM): a dynamic framework for understanding illness self-management. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 39(6), 935–946.

Lynch, L., Moorhead, A., Long, M., & Hawthorne-Steele, I. (2023). The Role of Informal Sources of Help In Young People’s Access To, Engagement With, And Maintenance In Professional Mental Health Care—A Scoping Review. In Journal of Child and Family Studies (Vol. 32, Issue 11, pp. 3350–3365). Springer.

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. In Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology (Vol. 55, Issue 11, pp. 1397–1413). Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH.

McLaren, T., Peter, L. J., Tomczyk, S., Muehlan, H., Schomerus, G., & Schmidt, S. (2023). The Seeking Mental Health Care model: prediction of help-seeking for depressive symptoms by stigma and mental illness representations. BMC Public Health, 23(1).

Meadley, A., Rickwood, D., & Ishikawa, A. (2024). Young Adults’ Perceptions of the Role of Self-Reliance and Trust on Help Seeking for Mental Health Problems. Youth, 4(4), 1726–1738.

Musa, Z. A., Kim Lam, S., Binti Mamat @ Mukhtar, F., Kwong Yan, S., Tajudeen Olalekan, O., & Kim Geok, S. (2020). Effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on the management of depressive disorder: Systematic review. In International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences (Vol. 12). Elsevier Ltd.

Radez, J., Reardon, T., Creswell, C., Lawrence, P. J., Evdoka-Burton, G., & Waite, P. (2021). Why do children and adolescents (not) seek and access professional help for their mental health problems? A systematic review of quantitative and qualitative studies. In European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (Vol. 30, Issue 2, pp. 183–211). Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH.

Rickwood, D., Deane, F. P., Wilson, C. J., & Ciarrochi, J. (2005). Young people’s help-seeking for mental health problems. Australian E-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health, 4(3), 218–251.

Shi, W., Shen, Z., Wang, S., & Hall, B. J. (2020). Barriers to professional mental health help-seeking among Chinese adults: A systematic review. In Frontiers in Psychiatry (Vol. 11, pp. 1–11). Frontiers Media S.A.

Spitzer, R.L., Kroenke, K., Williams, J.B., Patient Health Questionnaire Primary Care Study Group, 1999. Validation and utility of a self-report version of PRIME-MD: the PHQ primary care

study. JAMA 282, 1737 – 1744.

Theurel, A., & Witt, A. (2022). Identifying Barriers to Mental Health Help-Seeking in French University Students during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Creative Education, 13(02), 437–449.

Wang, Y., Duan, Z., Romm, K. F., Ma, Y., Douglas Evans, W., Bennett, B., Fuss, C., Klinkhammer, K. E., Wysota, C. N., & Berg, C. J. (2022). Bidirectional associations between depressive symptoms and cigarette, e-cigarette, cannabis, and alcohol use: Cross-lagged panel analyses among young adults before and during COVID-19. Addictive Behaviors, 134.

Wong, S. S., Wong, C. C., Ng, K. W., Bostanudin, M. F., & Tan, S. F. (2023). Depression, anxiety, and stress among university students in Selangor, Malaysia during COVID-19 pandemics and their associated factors. PLoS ONE, 18(1 January).

Yang, X., Hu, J., Zhang, B., Ding, H., Hu, D., & Li, H. (2024). The relationship between mental health literacy and professional psychological help-seeking behavior among Chinese college students: mediating roles of perceived social support and psychological help-seeking stigma. Frontiers in Psychology, 15.