Suicidal ideation and help‐negation: Not just hopelessness or prior help
Abstract
Few distressed young people seek professional psychological help and little is known about what sources of help young people seek for different problems. In suicidal youth, the process of help‐negation may exacerbate poor help‐seeking. Three hundred and two undergraduate university students completed a questionnaire measuring suicidal ideation, hopelessness, prior help‐seeking experience, and help‐seeking intentions. Participants indicated they would seek help from different sources of help for different types of problems, but friends consistently were rated as the most likely source of help. Help‐negation was suggested by higher levels of suicidal ideation being associated with lower help‐seeking intentions. However, the negative suicidal ideation/help‐seeking‐intentions relationship was not explained by hopelessness or prior help‐seeking. Help‐negation appears to involve more than just negative expectations regarding the future. The discussion proposes social problem‐solving orientation as one of a number of potential explanatory variables. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Clin Psychol 57: 901–914, 2001.
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Individuals who experience higher distress or severe mental illness are often less likely to seek help.
“The paradox is that individuals who experience higher distress or severe mental illness are often less likely to seek help.8–10”
From Technology-Based Interventions to Improve Help-Seeking for Mental Health Concerns: A Systematic Review (2022) · cites this paper as [8]
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- Authors
- Deane, F. P., Wilson, C. J., & Ciarrochi, J.
- Affiliations
- University of Wollongong (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Deane, Frank P.
- Venue
- Journal of Clinical Psychology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2001-06-08
- Volume
- 57
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 901-914
- ISSN
- 0021-9762 (ISSN-L)
- 1097-4679
- OpenAlex
- W2085248433
- Cited by
- 260
- References
- 55
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 17 · 2016: 19 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 13
- FWCI
- 7.55
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Clinical Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Online (University of Wollongong) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychology and Mental Health
- Keywords
- suicidal ideation, help-seeking intentions, hopelessness, youth suicide, sources of help, university students
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Female, Humans, Male, Patient Acceptance of Health Care, Surveys and Questionnaires, Suicide, Attempted, Treatment Refusal
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