Adolescent help-seeking: an exploration of associations with perceived cause of emotional distress

BACKGROUND: Help-seeking is intrinsic to efforts to manage the onset, maintenance, or escalation of mental health difficulties during adolescence. However, our understanding of adolescent help-seeking remains somewhat nebulous. A greater comprehension of help-seeking behavior from the perspective of adolescents is needed. It is also prudent to explore help-seeking behavior in the context of perceived cause for emotional distress, particularly as causal beliefs have been found to influence help-seeking behavior in adults. OBJECTIVES: The present study sought to categorize adolescents' experiences of help-seeking, and to examine the extent to which these categories (or “types”) of help-seeking behavior are associated with their perceptions of causal factors for emotional distress. METHODS: The data for this study were drawn from interviews conducted as part of the HeadStart Learning Programme. The sample comprised of 32 young people aged 11–12 years. Ideal-type analysis, a qualitative form of person-centered analysis, was used to construct a typology of adolescent help-seeking. Participants' help-seeking “type” was then compared with their perceived cause for emotional distress “type.” FINDINGS: We developed four distinct categories of help-seeking: (1) guided by others who have taken notice; (2) skeptical with unmet needs; (3) motivated and solution focused; and (4) preference for self-regulation. Simultaneously, we identified principal associations between perceived cause of emotional distress—(1) perceived lack of control; (2) unfair treatment; (3) others: their actions and judgements as the catalyst; (4) concern for self and others; and (5) self as cause—and help-seeking approaches. “Perceived lack of control” was most likely to be associated with “others who have taken notice”; “Unfair treatment” with “skeptical with unmet needs”; “others: their actions and judgements as the catalyst” with “motivated and solution focused”; “concern for self and others' with ‘guided by others who have taken notice”; finally, “self as cause” was most likely to be associated with “preference for self-regulation.” CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates meaningful and distinct categories of adolescent help-seeking and offers empirical evidence to support the assertion that perceived cause for emotional distress may influence the help-seeking approaches of adolescents.