Depression and Help-Seeking in College Students

What is it about?

Research suggests young people with high levels of depression are less likely to seek help for problems. Using a nationally representative sample of college students, this paper explores whether the reduced optimism and self-esteem associated with depression can help explain why young people experiencing depression are less likely to seek help. It also examines whether young people's level of social support has an effect on this relationship.

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Why is it important?

Important Findings: 1. Higher levels of depressive symptoms predicted lower intentions to seek help from friends and family. 2. Higher depressive symptoms were linked to lower optimism and self-esteem, which in turn was linked to lower help-seeking intentions. This suggests that among individuals with depressive symptoms, those with low optimism may consider their situation to be hopeless and view help-seeking as pointless. College welfare programmes should consider strategies for fostering optimism and self-esteem among students in order to better equip them to seek help. 3. For those with low or moderate levels of social support, higher depressive symptoms predicted lower help-seeking. However, for those with high social support, higher depressive symptoms did not predict help-seeking intentions. This highlight the role social support may play in increasing college students' help-seeking. College interventions should focus on educating students about mental health so they can recognise depressive symptoms and provide support to peers experiencing them, who may be unlikely to seek out help themselves. Training students as specialised peer supporters could also provide an approachable source of help to students with low social support in their current relationship network.