Predicting Attitudes Toward Seeking Psychological Professional Help Based on the Health Belief Model with the Mediation of Stigma in Adolescents with Depressive Symptoms

The aim of this study was to assess a model of significant antecedents of attitudes toward professional help-seeking to gain a more comprehensive understanding of this construct. This model examines the role of variables within the Health Belief Model, including perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and self-efficacy, as well as stigma, in relation to attitudes toward seeking psychological professional help. The sample consisted of 200 students from Yasuj city, selected through random sampling. Research instruments included the Perceived Susceptibility Scale (HBMI), the Perceived Severity Scale (PHQ-9), the Perceived Benefits of Treatment Scale (TGM), the Perceived Barriers to Treatment Scale (PBQ), the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), the Stigma Scale (STIGMA-9), the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Questionnaire (short form) (ATSPPH-SF), and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). The proposed model was analyzed using structural equation modeling and data were analyzed through path analysis with the bootstrapping method, employing SPSS v.24 and Smart PLS v.4 software. In this study, 56% of participants were male and 46% were female. Among the 200 statistical samples, 13 participants (6.5%) were aged 13, 51 participants (25.5%) were aged 14, 56 participants (28.0%) were aged 15, and 35 participants (17.5%) were aged 16. Only 16 participants (8.0%) were aged 17. The results indicated that all model indices were at an acceptable level, and the model showed a good fit with the data, as indicated by indices such as SMRS = 0.051 and NFI = 0.844. Moreover, the findings revealed that all correlation coefficients, except for perceived barriers, were significant. Therefore, the proposed model demonstrated that perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, and self-efficacy had a positive and significant relationship with professional psychological help-seeking attitudes, mediated indirectly by stigma. The findings of this study suggest that addressing stigma can facilitate attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help. These results can draw the attention of health professionals and school teachers to the necessity of enhancing literacy and awareness about stigma, particularly among adolescent students.