Examining cultural identity and media use as predictors of intentions to seek mental health information among Chinese
Abstract
Mental health is a stigmatized issue in many parts of the world. We conducted a survey of Chinese adults (n = 661) to examine predictors of intentions to seek information related to mental health. Attitudes and subjective norms positively influenced intentions to seek mental health information, with subjective norms being a stronger predictor. Cultural identity was negatively associated with intentions to seek mental health information, with participants who held a stronger cultural identity being less likely to seek information related to mental health. Media use was positively associated with intentions to seek information. This research highlights that cultural identity may influence mental health information seeking, and that health campaigns could focus more on influencing subjective norms, thereby changing the seeking intention of Chinese adults regarding mental health information. Additionally, practitioners may want to explore possible ways of providing health information to people with strong cultural identity, as they may be less likely to seek out information on their own.
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One cross-cultural study discovered that people from different cultures, such as a communitarian Chinese culture and an individualistic US culture, tend to perceive variables differently in risk information seeking.
“One cross-cultural study discovered that people from different cultures, such as a communitarian culture (eg, Chinese culture) and an individualistic culture (eg, US culture), tend to perceive variables differently in risk information seeking [38].”
From A Cross-Cultural Comparison of an Extended Planned Risk Information Seeking Model on Mental Health Among College Students: Cross-Sectional Study (2020) · cites this paper as [38]
Culture has an impact on risk perceptions among different culture groups.
“Several studies have shown that culture has an impact on risk perceptions among different culture groups [38,49].”
From A Cross-Cultural Comparison of an Extended Planned Risk Information Seeking Model on Mental Health Among College Students: Cross-Sectional Study (2020) · cites this paper as [38]
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“One study, for example, found that 30.8% of their participants (18–24 years old college students) had sought mental health information online (Horgan & Sweeney, 2010).”
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Self-citationOvercoming the Mental Health Stigma Through m-Health Apps: Results from the Healthy Minds Study
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Niu, Z., & Willoughby, J. F.
- Affiliations
- Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (US)
- Washington State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Niu, Zhaomeng
- Venue
- Asian Journal of Communication
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2018-02-17
- Volume
- 28
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 360-376
- ISSN
- 0129-2986 (ISSN-L)
- 1742-0911
- OpenAlex
- W2793121314
- Cited by
- 13
- References
- 8
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 2
- FWCI
- 2.03
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Asian Journal of Communication (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Literacy and Information Accessibility
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Literature and Literary Theory › Media Influence and Health
- Keywords
- mental health information seeking, cultural identity, media use, subjective norms, attitudes, mental health stigma, Chinese adults, health campaigns
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