INVESTIGATING THE BARRIERS AND FACILITATORS TO MENTAL HEALTH HELP-SEEKING BEHAVIOURS AMONG YOUNG ADULTS IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

Young adults in Singapore are a population at high risk of mental health distress and mental disorders due to the high stress they experience. Despite this, they have a low rate of help-seeking and mental health service usage, which further raises their vulnerability. To better understand young adults’ help-seeking behaviours, it is important to explore the factors that may support or hinder their decision on whether to seek help, be it from professionals or friends and family. The Health Belief Model (HBM) is used as a theoretical framework for the study. Key components of the HBM are identified as possible factors that can influence help-seeking behaviour. Under the component of perceived costs and benefits, past literature also highlights a number of costs and benefits that serve as barriers and facilitators to help-seeking. However, the lack of substantial research conducted in Singapore on these barriers and facilitators, and the lack of research targeting the young adult population, creates a gap in research. This study aims to fill that gap, by investigating the relationships between these barriers and facilitators, as well as mental health distress and sociodemographic factors, and mental health help-seeking among young adults in Singapore. This study employed a quantitative, cross-sectional research design, using an online self-administered survey questionnaire to collect data on help-seeking intentions and attitudes from young adults aged 21 to 30 years old residing in Singapore. The findings show that high health motivation, good general attitudes towards services, and effective cues to action increased intention to seek help, while stigma, high self-reliance, and lack of time reduced intention to seek help. Religion and occupation were sociodemographic predictors of help-seeking intention. Additionally, the study found that young adults were more likely to seek informal help over formal help, were less likely to seek help from phone helplines, and had lower help-seeking rates from mental health services compared to prior research. These findings provide some insight into the perceptions and attitudes of young adults in Singapore towards mental health services and serve as a starting point for social workers to make changes to the current mental health service delivery system. Four approaches were suggested: providing convenient and accessible assistance, advocating for, and promoting a greater understanding of services, empowering informal support networks to act as the first line of defence for young adults, and recognising the strengths and dangers of self-reliance. Through these, the study highlights the need for social workers to take a more active role in the mental health service delivery system, and join efforts with other mental health professionals to create a system that better meets young adults’ needs and lives.