How psychological resources mediate and perceived social support moderates the relationship between depressive symptoms and help-seeking intentions in college students

ABSTRACT

There is a high prevalence of depression among college students, which is linked to lower levels of help-seeking intentions. However, there has been a lack of research examining variables that may help explain this relationship. The present study aimed to address this gap by examining whether psychological resources (optimism and self-esteem) mediate the relationship between depressive symptoms and help-seeking intentions, and whether this relationship is moderated by perceived social support. Participants were 8121 college students (66% female) aged 17–25 years (M = 20.42, SD = 1.90), who completed the My World Survey Post-Second Level, a national survey on youth mental health. Linear regression analysis confirmed that depressive symptoms predicted lower informal help-seeking intentions. Moderated mediation indicated that social support moderated the direct relationship between depressive symptoms and informal help-seeking intentions and that optimism and self-esteem mediated this relationship, when gender was controlled for. Findings indicate that social support and psychological resources help further our understanding of the relationship between depressive symptoms and help-seeking in young people. Campaigns promoting help-seeking in college students should focus on the beneficial role of social support and on fostering optimism and self-esteem as facilitators of help-seeking intentions.

KEYWORDS:

• Depressive symptoms
• help-seeking intentions
• psychological resources
• social support

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Rachel Kenny is a PhD candidate and a member of the Youth Mental Health Lab in the School of Psychology, University College Dublin. Her research focuses on help-seeking and the use of technology in youth mental health.

Dr Barbara Dooley is Dean of Graduate Studies and Deputy Registrar in University College Dublin. She is also a senior member of the Youth Mental Health Lab in the university and Director of Research at Headstrong – The National Centre for Youth Mental Health. Her main research at present focuses on the risk and protective factors associated with youth mental health.

Dr Amanda Fitzgerald is a lecturer and a senior member of the Youth Mental Health Lab in the School of Psychology, University College Dublin. Her research interests include youth mental health, early intervention, resilience and risk, and technology and youth mental health.