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Seeking help from an outgroup can be difficult, especially when the outgroup is known to stereotype the ingroup negatively and the potential recipient cares strongly about its social image. However, we ask whether even highly identified ingroup members may seek help from a judgmental outgroup if doing so allows them to disconfirm the outgroup's negative stereotype of the ingroup. We presented participants with one of two negative outgroup stereotypes of their ingroup. One could be disconfirmed through seeking help, the other could not. Study 1 ( n = 43) showed group members were aware of the strategic implications of seeking help for disconfirming these stereotypes. Study 2 ( n = 43) showed high identifiers acted on such strategic knowledge by seeking more help from the outgroup when help-seeking could disconfirm a negative stereotype of their group (than when it could not). Implications for the seeking and acceptance of help are discussed.

Background: Homeless young people in the UK are a vulnerable group: their levels of psychological problems, physical ill health and violent victimisation exceed those of their housed counterparts. Aims: This qualitative study aimed to examine homeless young people's views about seeking psychological help for their problems. Method: Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 16 homeless young people at an emergency hostel. A thematic analysis and an analysis of the participants' narratives were undertaken. Results: A sense of hurt and anger at the perceived betrayal by their families and society made many participants reluctant to seek help and to trust help offered by others, and accordingly they placed a high value on self-sufficiency. Many said that they would, however, seek help from people whom they perceived to be genuine, caring, trustworthy, empathic and capable of containing their distress. Conclusion: Mental health professionals providing clinical services for this underserved population need to be aware of the importance of rejection and abandonment issues, along with the consequent hurt, anger and mistrust.

This study explores the help-seeking process of English-speaking Orthodox Jews living in Jerusalem, Israel. There is a belief, backed by some research coming out of public mental health facilities in Jerusalem, that the religious community underutilizes traditional mental health resources (Rosen, Greenberg, Schmeidler & Shefler, 2008). The conclusion of the research proposes that the underutilization is likely due to stigma within the community. This study addresses the question: What is the process that Orthodox Jewish English-speaking immigrants in the Jerusalem community use to seek help in times of emotional stress? The study addresses both barriers and facilitators to resources for this community. A qualitative, constructivist grounded theory approach was used in the collection and analysis of 26 interviews. Standards of trustworthiness as outlined by Morrow (2005) were used to ensure the rigor of the study. The result is an attachment theory-informed, nine-stage cyclical model of help-seeking as well as in-depth descriptive information about individuals' unique and culturally specific experience of the nine stages. Factors such as individuals' help-seeking filters, structural barriers (mainly transportation and cost) as well as community emphasis on privacy and therapist value-match are some of the barriers identified by participants as important in their help-seeking processes; these findings indicate a more complex explanation and understanding of why this population may not use government-funded resources. These findings also have important implications for theory, research, practice and education.

The aim of this study is to explore the help-seeking behaviour of Malay psychiatric patients. A semi-structured interview based on a standard proforma was conducted to assess help seeking process and delays for Malay psychiatric patients attending the psychiatric clinic for the first time. Help-seeking process and delays were defined. Among 134 patients evaluated in the study, 69% had visited traditional healers (bomoh) for the present illness before consulting psychiatrists. The second popular choice of treatment was medical practitioner and only a small percentage of them had consulted homeopathic practitioners and herbalists. Patients who had consulted bomohs were significantly delayed in getting psychiatric treatment compared with those who had not consulted them. Consultation of bomohs was significantly higher among married patients, those with major psychiatric illnesses and in family who believed in supernatural causes of mental illness. However, there was no significant difference in age, gender, educational status and occupation between patients who had consulted and not consulted bomoh. We concluded that majority of the Malay psychiatric patients had sought the traditional treatment prior to psychiatric consultation. The strength of social support and the belief of the patients, friends, and/or relatives in supernatural causes of mental illness were strongly associated with the rate of traditional treatment. Deep-seated cultural beliefs were major barrier to psychiatric treatment.

Data from 196 adolescents were used to examine the relationship between help‐seeking behavior and family functioning. Results indicated that half sought help for their problem, and problem type was not associated with help‐seeking behavior. Adolescents clustered into 2 groups of families—1 high in conflict and low in democratic parenting style and 1 low in conflict and high in democratic parenting style. Complex relationships between help‐seeking behavior, type of family, and type of problem were found.

This study of reports of physical abuse by women in medical clinics identified the barriers to reporting abuse, including time constraints and providers' and patients' attitudes and help-seeking patterns, and the responses that women find most helpful. Feminist principles of organizing—consciousness raising, bottom-up organizing, respect for women's definition of the solution, and awareness of the impact of the political—can help guide interventions with these women.

The current academic performance struggles of college men is gaining increasing research attention (Sax, 2008a, 2008b), but few studies have explored the possible impact of gender-related attributes such as masculinity and femininity on academic help-seeking behaviors and academic performance. In this study of 567 college undergraduates, students who classified themselves as androgynous on the Bem Sex-Role Inventory were more likely to engage in academic help-seeking behaviors than those classified as male sex-typed, female sex-typed, and undifferentiated. No significant differences were found for academic performance. These results highlight the importance of exploring the potential influence of gender-related constructs on academic behavior and performance.