Psychological predictors of attitude towards seeking ...

© Psychological Society of South Africa. All rights reserved. ISSN 0081-2463

South African Journal of Psychology, 41(3), 2011, pp. 310-327

Psychological predictors of attitude towards seeking professional psychological help in a Nigerian university student population Ojedokun Oluyinka Department of Pure & Applied Psychology, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria [email protected] Although research on the relationship between psychological factors and attitude towards seeking professional psychological help has been conducted in a wide range of settings, some psychological factors remained unexplored, especially among Nigerian university students. Therefore this study investigated predictive powers of psychological factors (health locus of control, mindfulness, openness to experience, personal growth initiative, and sense of coherence) on atitude towards seeking professional psychological help among 452 students in a Nigerian university. The study was comprised of 234 (51.77%) males and 218 (48.23%) females with mean age of 22 years (SD = 2.16). Participants completed measures of health locus of control, mindfulness, openness to experience, personal growth initiative, sense of coherence, and attitude towards seeking professional psychological help. Results reveal significant independent and joint influence of health locus of control, mindfulness, openness to experience, personal growth initiative, and sense of coherence on attitude towards seeking professional psychological help. Findings from this study suggest that professionals in the areas of mental health and psychological well-being might improve students’ engagement in psychological counseling through changing their attitudes toward seeking professional help by modifying their unfulfilled psychological, emotional, and social needs. Keywords: health locus of control; help-seeking attitude; mindfulness; openness to experience; personal growth initiative; sense of coherence In help seeking literature, attitude towards seeking professional psychological help is an evaluative reaction or statement of intention to seek/resist professional aid for psychological discomforts (Fischer & Turner, 1970; Mackenzie, Knox, Gekoski, & Macaulay, 2004). Attitude towards seeking professional psychological help is also conceptualised as willingness to seek counsel from mental health professionals when the state of emotional trauma warrants it (Fischer & Farina, 1995). This definition presupposes that attitude towards seeking professional psychological help might be related to actual help-seeking behaviour, and if this is so, then it is important to explore possible predictors of this attitude so that this knowledge can aid mental health professionals on how to make their services attractive to clients. Although research on the relationship between psychological factors and attitude towards seeking professional psychological help has been conducted in a wide range of settings, some psychological factors remained unexplored, especially among Nigerian university students. Empirical investigation on some of these unexplored psychological factors may shed new light on this area, providing a useful framework that differentiates professional help seekers from others, and by extension improving the psychological well-being of students. Research evidence (e.g. Hassan, 1991; Kolo, 1994; Laosebikan, 1980; Mack, 1979) suggests that Nigerian students prefer seeking help for their problems ranging from psychological (emotional, personal growth, and personal development), social (interpersonal relation, lack of social skill, campus unrests, and cultism), and contextual (time management, decision making, academic concerns, and financial) from informal sources (e.g., spiritual houses, immediate family members, friends, mentors, and other significant others), other than professionals. In contrast with informal help-seeking, professional help-seeking is widely recognised as providing protection against a variety of mental health risks, including risk factors for suicide (Martin, 2002). It is generally accepted that appropriate

South African Journal of Psychology, Volume 41(3), September 2011

311

help-seeking has a strong negative effect on the psychological distress of personal, social, and emotional problems (Tracey, Sherry, & Keitel, 1986). In addition, most of these informal sources are not trained in dealing effectively with adversity, emotional challenges, and personal problems that university students might have encountered. Thus, relying on these informal sources may delay early intervention and may cause more severe behavioural or emotional problems (Oladipo, 2007). These concerns could have implications for the performance of normal day-to-day activities, potentials, and future personal development of the individuals. Related to the above as revealed through the personal observations of the researcher and interactions with the students and staff at the University counseling centre at the setting of this study is that students only patronise the center in partial fulfillment of the requirements for registration on admission to the university. Unfortunately, most of these students do not seek professional psychological services from the center when they have psychological problems. M akinde (1984) asserts that students would benefit from professional psychological services for problems ranging from uninspiring and unmotivated life styles, poor academic attainment, effects of parental poverty, rural-urban conflict, concern for extended family and personal family problems, coping with the hardships of commuting, self-enforced isolation, and other problems centering on admission, registration, lectures, and graduation issues. Nweke and Anikweze (1989 cited in Kolo, 1994) add career decision, choice of life partners, social problems (e.g., belonging to and operating within the norms of open and secret societies), political situations, and material distractions in the Nigerian society (e.g. viscerogenic needs like the unmet needs for rest and sex, psychogenic needs like acquisition of things of affluence) to the list. The consequences associated with delay in seeking professional assistance and the benefits linked with utilisation of psychological services make unfavourable attitude towards seeking professional psychological help a vital public health problem. Therefore, if students are to benefit from psychological health services, then the first step should be an empirical exploration of their helpseeking attitude and its predictors. Empirical knowledge of the factors that predict students’ favourable attitude towards seeking professional psychological help would assist psychologists, psychiatrists, therapists, counselors, social workers, consultants, mental health team members, and researchers alike in improving services delivery and promoting benefits of psychological services. W hat are the psychological factors that can make seeking professional psychological help more desirable for Nigerian university students? The body of research on the antecedents of help-seeking attitude have implicated factors such as service gap, treatment fearfulness, self-disclosure (Kahn, Achter, & Shambaugh, 2001; Vogel & W ester, 2003), lack of information, strong belief in individualism (Tata & Leong, 1994), problem types, gender (Salami, 1998; Segal, Mincic, Coolidge, & O’Riley, 2005), families’ socioeconomic status, age, students’ level of education, and environmental constraints (Adamolekun, 1981; Ang, Lim, & Tan, 2004). Theoretical framew ork These authors cited above have contributed immensely by providing useful information on some factors that could explain help-seeking attitude. However, some psychological factors remained unexplored. The emphasis in this study is on the relationship between attitude towards seeking professional psychological help and personality dispositions from self-motivation paradigm (i.e. Self-Determination Theory [SDT]; Deci & Ryan, 2000; Self-Efficacy Theory; Bandura, 1986, 1989). This paradigm emphasizes self-instruction and self-regulation, differing from the traditional simple stimulus-response paradigm, which seeks to understand how given stimuli became linked to given responses. SDT is a motivation theory based on the premise that people actively seek opportunities to develop their fullest potential under environments that support the fulfilment of basic psychological needs. As they seek such opportunities, this enhances individuals’ self-motivation and healthy

312


psychological functioning (Deci & Ryan, 2000; Greguras & Diefendorff, 2009). The theory posits that development occurs via autonomous striving to broaden knowledge, connect with people, seek challenges, and to integrate these experiences into an authentic sense of self; in this theory, motivation is a function of self-regulation (Deci & Ryan, 2000; Greguras & Diefendorff, 2009; Ryan & Deci, 2008; Vansteenkiste, Neyrink, Niemiec, Soenens, De W itte, & Van den Broeck, 2007). Self-efficacy theory maintains that people’s motivation is determined by two related expectancies- an efficacy expectancy, the confidence that a person can perform the requisite behaviour; and an outcome expectancy, the belief by a person that given behaviour or set of behaviours will lead to a given outcome. According to W ood, Bandura, and Bailey (1990), self-efficacy is a person’s belief or confidence in his/her abilities to deal with specific demands through applying his/her own motivation, cognitive resources, and specific actions. Presumably, psychological variables such as health locus of control, openness to experience, mindfulness, personal growth initiative, and sense of coherence seem to address the self-motivation outlined by SDT and self-efficacy theories. This study investigates the independent and joint influence of these psychological factors on attitude towards seeking professional psychological help in a sample of Nigerian university students. Unfortunately, no research to the best knowledge of the researcher has empirically examined the relationship among these variables in a Nigerian university setting. Therefore, an empirical investigation of psychological variables in relation to attitude towards seeking professional psychological services is pertinent. Psychological factors and attitude toward seeking professional psychological help Locus of control is the perception by an individual of his/her ability to exercise control over the environment (Rotter, 1966). Internalizers believe they have control over their environment and their personal successes, whereas externalizers view their lives as controlled by external factors, such as chance or unseen hands. Health locus of control refers to the perception that management of well-being resides with the person or powerful others. The perception that an individual is personally responsible for health related matter reflects autonomy, competence, relatedness, and efficacy expectations as proposed in SDT and self-efficacy theories. If a student externalising personal emotional problems by spiritualising them, such individual may avoid seeking professional psychological help for their management because the individual believes that powerful forces beyond his or her control is responsible for the problems. Hence, negative attitude toward seeking professional psychological help. Then, students with internal health locus of control are expected to report positive attitude towards seeking professional psychological help. Previous studies (e.g. O’ Carrol, Smith, Grubb, Fox, & Masterton, 2001) have implicated health locus of control on help-seeking attitude. Blaxter (1990), and Pitts and Phillips (1998) also reported that internals are more likely to engage in a wide range of health enhancing behaviour than externals. Openness to experience is the propensity to adjust personal belief and behaviour when exposed to new information or ideas (John, 1990). The characteristics that allow for openness to experience include an active imagination, willingness to consider new ideas, divergent thinking, and intellectual curiosity (McCrae & Costa, 1987). Thus students who are open to new experiences compared to those closed to new experiences are expected to have a more favourable disposition towards seeking professional psychological help, because the traits that characterize openness to experience could motivate them to be more willing to observe negative thoughts and emotions with openness and clarity. For these individuals, positive attitude towards seeking professional psychological help fulfills the need for curiosity such as participating in religious activities, belonging to different societies, reading Holy books, and utilizing professional psychological services. According to Baer (2003), and Shapiro, Carlson, Astin, and Freedman (2006), the mental space provided by taking a more impersonal approach to one’s negative self-relevant emotions, allows for greater emotional wellbeing.


313

Brown and Ryan (2003) define mindfulness as conscious orientation towards life experiences and re-perceiving them. Mindfulness is about recognising what is meaningful and focusing on behaviour and attitude congruent with personal needs and values, thus facilitating the meeting of SDT’s three basic needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness. To SDT it is through objective consideration of a person’s goals and motivations that he/she comes to accept or reject goals (Ryan, Huta, & Deci, 2008). Therefore, individual actions need to be self-endorsed in order to achieve optimal self-functioning in line with the SDT propositions. This ability to act reflectively supports the development of self determination (Ryan & Deci, 2008). Professional psychological services involve exploration of emotion, and to reach optimal functioning through the intervention of mental health professionals, people should act with a sense of freedom, be master of their own environments, and feel connected to others. It is then that mindful reflection can underscore their motivation to seek professional psychological help. Hence, students scoring high on mindfulness are likely to be more favourably disposed to seek professional psychological help. Neale-Lorello, Levy, and Bichsel (2005) propose that individuals who report higher scores on mindfulness are likely to report more positive attitudes toward psychological interventions and to utilise professional mental health services when needed. Personal growth initiative is a person’s sense that he/she is growing psychologically, and the direction of this growth indicates progress as individual (Robitschek (1998). This definition suggests that an individual takes active and intentional engagement in the process of personal growth. This is akin to autonomy, competence, and relatedness constructs in SDT, and self-efficacy expectations in self-efficacy theory. According to W hittaker and Robitschek (2001), people who are high on personal growth tend to be open to experiences, seek improvement in self, have a sense of direction, and have goals in life. Robitschek and Kashubeck (1999) found that people who have high levels of personal growth intiative know the direction in which they would like to grow, and that they seem to capitalise on opportunities for personal growth and seek out avenues for creativity and adaptive solutions. To Schieman and Turner (1998), having a firm sense of organisation is associated with numerous positive health practices and outcomes (e.g. proactive help-seeking behaviour, preventive health care, and less overall incidence of illness). This means that high levels of personal growth initiative should drive people towards a wide range of well-being and enhancement strategies. A student with high levels of personal growth initiative should be able to do a critical appraisal of his/her past, present, and future experiences as a benchmark for addressing personal growth and development needs. This individual should be able to cope better with psychological challenges by exploring different resources within his/her or others' control, rather than becoming an innocent victim of social pressures. Students who score higher on personal growth initiative are expected to report a more favourable attitude towards seeking professional psychological help. According to Antonovsky (1987, 1991), sense of coherence is a pervasive, dynamic, and enduring feeling of confidence that life and the surrounding environment are predictable and that there is a high probability that things will work out as well as can be reasonably expected. It consists of three components — comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness. Like the constructs of efficacy expectancy and outcome expectancy in self-efficacy theory, and autonomy, competence, and relatedness constructs in SDT, a sense of coherence can motivate individuals to use personal resources (e.g. articulating and planning) to restore equilibrium or reach their optimal functioning. For instance, when a student encounters psychological, social, and contextual problems, having a higher sense of coherence could ignite a feeling of confidence that seeking professional psychological help will work out. It seems that a higher sense of coherence could be related to favourable attitude towards seeking professional psychological help. Thus, sense of coherence should be studied for its relationship with adaptive behaviour such as attitude towards seeking psychological services.

314


In summary, self-determination theory and self-efficacy theory emphasize the critical role of human psychological motives, needs, and expectations in understanding feeling, thinking, and behaviour toward proactive attitude. Even in the face of socio-cultural constraints, these theories hold significant implications for mental health practice. Based on the theoretical proposition and reviewed literature, this study hypothesises that attitude towards seeking professional psychological help is independently and jointly predicted by health locus of control, mindfulness, openness to experience, personal growth initiative, and sense of coherence. Pescosolido and Boyer (1999) affirm that predisposing personal characteristics are influential factors in the help-seeking process. M ETHODOLOGY Design This study utilises a non-experimental (i.e. cross-sectional survey) design with five independent (predictor) variables and one dependent variable. The five independent variables are health locus of control, mindfulness, openness to experience, personal growth initiative, and sense of coherence. The dependent variable is attitude towards seeking professional psychological help. Participants and setting Olabisi Onabanjo University (formerly known as Ogun State University) is a State university established in 1983, and located at Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Nigeria with campuses spread over the State. The University with a student enrollment of about 50,000 students including full-time, part-time, and graduate students is non-residential. It attracts students from diverse ethnic, religion, and socioeconomic background due to its location. The University is very close to Lagos State (former capital of Nigeria), Ibadan (the largest city in black Africa), and Benin City. The assumption is that when people (especially young adults) from diverse backgrounds come together, there could be adjustment problem originating from intrapersonal, interpersonal, and contextual factors. Also, psychological problems for the young adults may concentrate around personal difficulties characterized by feelings of anxiety or tension, dissatisfaction with personal behaviour, and excessive worries about minor problems (Cooper, 1996). Table 1 reveals that a random sample of 452 students with an almost equal distribution of males 234 (51.77%) and females 218 (48.23%) participated in the study. Participants’ ages ranged from 19 to 30 years (mean = 23.34, SD = 2.68). One hundred and five (23.2%) of the sample are first-year university students, 62 (13.7%) are second-year students, 83 (18.4%) are third-year students, 180 (39.8%) are in their final years, while the remaining 22 (4.9%) are graduate students. Also, the biographical data obtained reveal that 53 (11.73%) students had previously or currently participating in counseling sessions. Of these participants, 19 (35.85%) had consulted a psychologist, psychiatrist, and career counselor, 15 (28.30%) had received counseling from a medical doctor, 12 (22.64%) had previous contact with clergyman, while the remaining 7 (13.21%) had consulted a social worker. Their religious group affiliation also varied: Christianity 225 (49.8%), Islam 222 (49.1%), and traditional worshippers 5 (1.1%). In terms of their family background, 189 (41.81%) are from monogamous families while the remaining 263 (58.19%) are from polygamous families. M easures The instrument of data collection is a battery of test structured in English Language. It comprises biographical data and six different scales. Attitude Towards Seeking Professional Psychological Help. The Attitude Towards Seeking Professional Psychological Help-Short Scale (ATSPPH-S) (Fischer & Farina, 1995) measures willingness to seek help from mental health professionals when psychological problems are en-


315

countered in general. It is a 10 items short scale based on the original 29-item version developed by Fischer and Turner (1970). Responses are on a five-point scale ranging from “strongly disagree (1)” to “strongly agree (5).” High scores indicate more positive attitude towards seeking professional psychological help. In this study the scores for the overall sample on the scale ranged from 11 to 46, yielding a range of 35. Fischer and Farina (1995) report an internal coefficient alpha of .84 and a test-retest reliability of .80 over one month. They also report significant point biserial correlations between individuals’ scores on ATSPPH-S and psychological help-seeking behaviour, an indication of a good construct’ validity. Elhai, Schweinle, and Anderson (2008) also report an internal consistency of .87 for the scale, and a moderate correlation with the mental health care utilization scale. Evidence for the use of this scale in Nigeria is rare. In the present study, the coefficient alpha estimate was .87.

Table 1. Demographic information Variables Gender (n = 452) Males Females Year of Education (n = 452) First Year Second Year Third Year Final Year Graduate students Previously or Currently Participating in Counselling Sessions Yes No Professional Consulted (n = 53) Psychologist, Psychiatrist, and Career Counsellor Medical Doctor Clergyman Social Worker Religious Group Affiliation (n = 452) Christianity Islam Traditional Worshippers Family Background (n = 452) Monogamous Family Polygamous Family

Frequency (%) 234 (51.07%) 218 (48.23%) 105 (23.02%) 62 (13.07%) 83 (18.04%) 180 (39.08%) 22 (04.09%) 53 (11.73%) 399 (88.27%) 19 (35.85%) 15 (28.30%) 12 (22.64%) 7 (13.21%) 225 (49.8%) 222 (49.1%) 5 (01.01%) 189 (41.81%) 263 (58.19%)

Health Locus of Control. Health Locus of Control Scale (HLCS; W allston, W allston, Kaplan, & Maides, 1976) is an 11-item scale that predicts perception of control over health outcomes. The responses pattern is on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from “strongly disagree (1)” to “strongly agree (5).” The scale is scored in the external direction, with reverse scores for the internally worded items. High scores indicate external health locus of control- a belief that improved health is accomplished only through external factors, while low scores indicate a belief that improved health can be accomplished through individual’s own efforts. In this study the scores for the overall sample on the scale ranged from 11 to 53, yielding a range of 42. W allston et al. (1976) reported an alpha coefficient of 0.54 and test-retest reliability of 0.71. In establishing the construct validity of HLCS,

316


Dishman, Ickes, and Morgan (1980) found a modest but significant relationship between HLC scores and measure of self motivation. Strickland (1981) reports a relationship between Type A behaviour characteristics and holding locus of control belief. Olapegba (2008) obtains a Cronbach alpha of .72 and test-retest reliability of .68 among a Nigerian sample. The reliability of the scale in this study was .72. M indfulness. Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS; Brown & Ryan, 2003) is a 15-item scale that assesses the core characteristic of dispositional mindfulness, namely, open or receptive awareness of and attention to what is taking place in the present. The items are rated on a five- point scale ranging from “strongly disagree (1)" to strongly agree (5)". Higher scores indicate high mindfulness. In this study the scores for the overall sample on the scale ranged from 15 to 65, yielding a range of 50. Brown and Ryan (2003) report that the construct validity of the MAAS has been established through its significant positive and negative relationships with a variety of psychological constructs measured by well validated psychometric scales. For example, MAAS is significantly and positively related to scales measuring openness to experience, clarity, attention, repair of mood, flexibility, novelty seeking, engagement, and internal state awareness. MAAS is also negatively related to scales measuring public self-consciousness, social anxiety, rumination, and absorption. Brown and Ryan (2003) report an alpha coefficient of .94 for the scale. Evidence for the use of this scale in Nigeria is rare. The data for the present study yields a coefficient alpha of .88. Openness to Experience. Openness to Experience Scale (OES; Costa & McCrae, 1992) is 12 items scale taken from the Costa and McCrae (1992) measure of the Big-Five Personality Factors. Each item was responded to on a 5-point scale ranging from “strongly disagree (1)” to “strongly agree (5)”. Higher scores are indicative of greater openness to experience. In this study the scores for the overall sample on the scale ranged from 14 to 56, yielding a range of 42. Costa and McCrae (1988) reported convergent and discriminant validations for the Big-Five Personality Factors questionnaire across self, peer, and spouse ratings. In this study, the twelve items reach an acceptable level of internal consistency (á = .76). Personal Growth Initiative. Personal Growth Initiative Scale (PGIS) (Robitschek, 1998) is a 9-item self-report measure that assesses a person's active and intentional involvement in changing and developing as a person. The scale items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale from “strongly disagree (1)” to “strongly agree (5).” Item scores are summed to obtain a total PGI score. In this study the scores for the overall sample on the scale ranged from 10 to 41, yielding a range of 31. Robitschek (1998, 1999) reports internal consistency ranging from .78 to .90, and test-retest reliability estimates of .74 after 8 weeks for the scale. Robitschek also report an acceptable convergent validity estimates for PGIS. For example, the scale reveals moderate positive correlations with instrumentality, growth, assertiveness, and internal locus of control (ranging from .24 to .56), and moderate negative correlations with chance locus of control and growth that is unintentional (ranging from –.24 to –.54). Shorey, Little, Snyder, Kluck, and Robitschek (2007) report that PGIS correlates with the conceptually related construct of hope (r = .25). According to Robitschek (1998), evidence of discriminant validity includes small, non-significant correlations with the theoretically unrelated constructs of social desirability, SAT scores, and age (r = .12, r = –.03, r = .05, respectively. Evidence for the use of this scale in Nigeria is rare. In this present study, the data yield an internal consistency (á = .94) for the scale. Sense of Coherence. The Orientation to Life Questionnaire-Short Scale (SOC-13) (Antonovsky, 1987) is a 13-item short scale that measures a global, perceptual predisposition in responding to life


317

stress. The responses format is on a five-point Likert scale (always/very often to never). High score indicates a high sense of coherence while low score means low sense of coherence. The scale has three dimensions of meaning (e.g. How often do you have the feeling that you don’t care about what’s going on around you? How do you think you are going to feel about the things you will do in the future?), comprehension (e.g. How often has it happened in the past that you were surprised by the behaviour of people you thought you knew well? How often do you have the feeling that you are in an unfamiliar situation and don’t know what to do?), and manageability (e.g. How often has it happened that people whom you counted on disappointed you? How often do you have the feeling that you are being treated unfairly?). In this study the scores for the overall sample on the scale ranged from 15 to 93, yielding a range of 78. Antonovsky (1993) reports Cronbach alpha coefficients varying between 0.85 and 0.91 for the scale. Test-retest reliability studies found coefficients between 0.41 and 0.97 (Antonovsky, 1993). Result for the construct validity of the SOC reveals a negative relationship between SOC and experienced stress, and SOC also correlate negatively with the ‘State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait’ and the ‘Beck Depression Inventory’ (Frenz, Carey, & Jorgensen, 1993). W issing et al. (1999 cited in Vosioo, W issing, & Temane, 2009) reported the applicability of the scale in a South African context. Roothman, Kristen, and W issing (2003 cited in Vosioo, W issing, & Temane, 2009) report an alpha coefficient of 0.87 and Temane and W issing (2006 cited in Vosioo, W issing, & Temane, 2009) report internal reliability coefficients 0.88 and 0.76 (after removal of two outliers) for the scale. Data for the current study yield a coefficient alpha estimate of .85. Procedure To be more representative, contact was made with the lecturers-in-charge of the general university courses (General Studies Programme) to use students offering the courses as participants in the study. At different colleges or faculties students were randomly selected using odd and even number sampling method from the class attendance lists. Students with odd numbers were asked to wait at the end of the lectures. Following informed consent and willingness to complete research instrument, measures of demographic information, sense of coherence, personal growth, mindfulness, openness to experience, health locus of control, and attitude towards seeking professional psychological help were completed by participants. Students completed the questionnaires, which took half an hour, in class the same day as they were handed out by the author with the assistance of the lecturers -in-charge. Data collection took a period of eight weeks. Out of the 500 questionnaires administered, 488 (97.6% return rate) were returned. The remaining twelve questionnaires were lost or not traceable. Of the 488 returned, 36 (7.38%) were removed for missing data. The resulting data-set was subjected to data analysis using SPSS for W indows. The participants did not receive any remuneration for participating in the study. Data analysis Statistical techniques, namely Pearson r coefficient of correlation and simple linear multiple regression, t test for independent sample, and One-way Analysis of Variance were applied in this study. Pearson r correlation analysis was conducted to know the direction, magnitude of the relationship among the variables, and which variables to include in further analysis. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine whether the set of psychological factors predict attitude towards seeking professional psychological help. A t test was performed to explore possible difference in attitude towards seeking professional psychological help based on gender. One-way Analysis of Variance (F tests) was conducted to explore difference in attitude towards seeking professional psychological help among first year, second year, third year, final years, and graduate students. The multicollinearity assumption was evaluated during data analysis, using the tolerance statistic and the

318


Variance Inflation Factor (VIF) to demonstrate the absence of multicollinearity among independent variables. Tolerance values typically range from 0 to 1 with 0.1 serving as a cutoff point (Mertler & Vannatta, 2005). Tolerance values less than 0.1 point to the presence of multicollinearity. VIF values greater than 10 indicate multicollinearity. From the results there was no evidence of multicollinearity in this study, tolerance and VIF values were the same for the five predictor variables. This means that the predictors were tolerated in the criterion variable. Ethical aspects Confidentiality was provided verbally at the time of recruiting the participants and in writing on the research instrument by instructing respondents not to identify themselves in any way, and guaranteed their anonymity. The researcher informed the participants that the exercise is for research purposes only, and the results of their participation will be confidential and will not be released in any individually identifiable way, unless required by law. In addition, they were told that there are no anticipated physical, psychological or social discomforts associated with the research. Their participation is voluntary, and they can withdraw from the study at any time without any prejudice or penalty. They were also reminded that should they choose not to participate in the study, they would not be disadvantaged in anyway. Furthermore, it was made clear that it was not compulsory to respond to all questions if they felt uncomfortable. There were no refusals or withdrawn responses. RESULTS Prior to further analysis, scores for the ATSPPH-Short Scale, Health Locus of Control Scale (HLCS), Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), Openness to Experience Scale (OES), Personal Growth Initiative Scale (PGIS), and Orientation to Life Questionnaire-Short Scale (SOC-13) items were examined through SPSS programmes for the extent to which the data met the assumptions of normality and justification for using parametric analyses. The results as presented in Table 2 show that the data met the assumptions of normality. Correlations among predictor variables and between predictor variables and the dependent variable were also examined in order to meet the requirements of multiple regression statistical analysis. Means, standard deviations, intercorrelations, and measures of dispersion of the variables are presented in Table 2.

Table 2. Zero-order correlations showing relationship among variables of study (n = 452) Variables

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

1. ATSPPH-Short scale 2. Health locus of control 3. Mindfulness 4. Openness to experience 5. Personal growth initiative 6. Sense of coherence 7. Age 8. Gender

–.34** .30** .14** .29** .27** –.01 .05

–.02 –.02 –.14** –.10* –.01 –.00

–.05 .22** .03 –.09 –.04

–.10* .06 .05 –.04

.17** .02 .07

–.05 .08

–.14**

-

Mean SD Range Skewness Kurtosis

28.34 6.36 35.00 –.06 –.21

32.97 9.66 42.00 –.39 –.49

21.83 7.34 50.00 4.36 19.99

28.56 7.41 31.00 1.20 1.67

26.33 6.19 78.00 .03 –.45

40.13 8.44 42.00 .44 2.84

23.34 2.68

ATSPPH = Attitude towards Seeking Professional Psychological Help; * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01


319

The results show that each of the five psychological variables is significantly related to students’ attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help. Results reveal moderate relationship between health locus of control (r = –.34; p < .05), mindfulness (r = .30; p < .01), and attitude towards seeking professional psychological help. Openness to experience (r = .14; p < .01), personal growth initiative (r = .29; p < .01), and sense of coherence (r = .27; p < .01) are weakly but significantly related to attitude towards seeking professional psychological help. Though, the correlation among the variables ranges between moderate to low, these results suggest that correlations between mindfulness, openness to experience, personal growth initiative, sense of coherence, and attitude towards seeking professional psychological help are positive, and show that as participants’ scores on mindfulness, openness to experience, personal growth initiative, sense of coherence increase attitude towards seeking professional psychological help becomes more favourable. However, health locus of control is inversely related to attitude towards seeking professional psychological help, indicating that internally health locus of control individuals tend to report more favourable attitude towards seeking professional psychological help. The hypothesis that predicts independent and joint influence of health locus of control, openness to experience, mindfulness, personal growth initiative, and sense of coherence on attitude towards seeking professional psychological help was tested using simple linear multiple regression analysis. Table 3 displays results of the analysis. Table 3. Multiple regression with Attitude Towards Seeking Professional Psychological Help as the dependent variable and all statistically significant variables as the independent variables Variables Health locus of control Mindfulness Openness to experience Personal growth initiative Sense of coherence

R

.54

R²

.29

F

35.81

p

â

t

p

Tolerance

VIF