Predictors of Attitude Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help in Hong Kong

Abstract

The present study examined predictors of attitude toward professional psychological help-seeking in Hong Kong. A cross-sectional approach was adopted and a total of 166 participants (120 female) ranging in age from 20 to 60 years were recruited online. The relationship between attitudes toward professional help-seeking, self-stigma, and perceived accessibility and affordability of services were examined, gender differences were also examined. Findings revealed that self-stigma was significantly negatively associated with attitude toward professional psychological help-seeking, while perceived affordability was positively associated with attitudes. The current study demonstrates that stigma is still an ever-present obstacle, which could contribute to low utilization of services in Hong Kong.

Keywords:

• Accessibility
• affordability
• Chinese
• psychological help-seeking
• stigma

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.