University Students' Beliefs about the Causes and Treatments of Mental Illness
Abstract
Limited or incorrect mental health knowledge has been shown to result in negative attitudes toward mental illness and the seeking of psychological treatment. We endeavoured to investigate university students' beliefs about the etiology and treatment of mental illness. The sample comprised 112 students from the faculties of Law and Engineering of a large South African university. A three-part questionnaire was administered, which consisted of a section on demographic information, a vignette scale measuring the students' choice(s) of etiological factors and treatments for four types of mental illness, and Fischer and Farina's Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale — Shortened Form ATSPPH-SF. The results indicated that the participants viewed stressful events as leading to both depression and substance abuse, chemical imbalance as a cause of schizophrenia, and negative social factors as causing anorexia nervosa. The overall top-rated treatment across the four disorders was professional psychological intervention as chosen by 48% of the participants. The results also indicated a number of significant relationships between etiological and treatment beliefs. The findings are discussed in the context of the literature, and recommendations for future research are made.
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Aetiological beliefs impact help-seeking styles, where beliefs that a mental disorder is caused by biology result in individuals seeking medical help, whereas stress-related causes are approached through social support.
“Samouilhan and Seabi (2010) found that aetiological beliefs impact help-seeking styles, where beliefs that a mental disorder is caused by biology result in individuals seeking medical help, whereas stress-related causes are approached through social support.”
From Is it Still Ok to be Ok? Mental Health Labels as a Campus Technology (2023) · cites this paper as Samouilhan and Seabi 2010
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“In addition, tobacco use has been identified as another way that students cope with salient stressors within their social and academic environment [17,18].”
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“A study taken in Novosibirsk, Bratislava, and Germany, for example, discovered that a high portion of the general population considered mental illness as a form of divine punishment for wrongdoings committed [47].”
BackgroundResearch on help-seeking for mental illness in Africa: Dominant approaches and possible alternatives
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“Similarly, Samouilhan and Seabi (2008) referred to above proclaim, “A strong belief in traditional ideology could lead to the rejection of formal mental health services,” whilst Coleman, Loppy, and Walraven (2002, p. 381) in their study of epilepsy in rural Gambia conclude, “In most parts of…”
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“…Gilchrist & Sullivan, 2006; Hernan et al., 2010; Judd et al., 2006; Klineberg et al., 2011; Mackenzie et al., 2014; Mariu et al., 2012; Purcell et al., 2011; Raviv et al., 2009; Rickwood et al., 2005, 2007; Rughani et al., 2011; Ryan et al., 2014; Samouilhan & Seabi, 2010; Vanheusden et al., 2008).”
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“2009), Arabic university students (Al-Darmaki 2003), Kuwait college students (Al-Rowaie 2005), South African college students (Samouilhan and Seabi 2010), Muslim Egyptian students (Leach et al.”
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“Most studies of mental health literacy have been conducted abroad (Angermeyer & Dietrich, 2006; Bourget & Chenier, 2007; Das & Phookun, 2013; Jorm, 2012) with only a few of such relevant studies conducted locally (Hugo et al., 2003; Samouihan and Seabi, 2010).”
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“It was translated into different languages and tested among Taiwanese, Japanese, Asian Australians, and South African students ( Leach, Jana- Masri, & Priester, 2007; Samouilhan & Seabi 2010).”
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“[53], and Samouilhan and Seabi [54] show that in Western contexts people might hold”
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“Samouilhan and Seabi (2010) found that aetiological beliefs impact help-seeking styles, where beliefs that a mental disorder is caused by biology result in individuals seeking medical help, whereas stress-related causes are approached through social support.”
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“…of postsecondary students with disabilities “face significant barriers to achieving their goals” (U.S. Department of Education, 2002, p. 48), students with EBD often face additional barriers, particularly stigma and misinformation regarding mental illness (Padron, 2006; Samouilhan & Seabi, 2010).”
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“Some study participants attributed mental illness to spiritual forces (Samouilhan & Seabi, 2010), bewitchment or demonic possession (Kuo et al., 2019) and cited prayer as a treatment for depression and schizophrenia (Samouilhan & Seabi, 2010).”
Repressive Coping and Theories about Psychotherapy
Furnham, A., & Lay, A. (2016) · doi:10.4172/2161-0487.1000283 · Cited by 6
“There have been a number of papers on such issues as cultural differences in the perception of psychotherapy [22], beliefs about psychotherapeutic treatments and help-seeking [23] as well as beliefs about counseling [24].”
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Urdu translation and adaptation of beliefs about psychological problems inventory (BAPPI)
Gulzar, A., & Ahmad, M. (2025) · Social Sciences Spectrum · doi:10.71085/sss.04.01.226
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“Samouilhan and Seabi (2010) deal with this issue in the seventh contribution, University students ’ beliefs about the causes and treatments of mental illness.”
Background
- Authors
- Samouilhan, T., & Seabi, J.
- Affiliations
- University of the Witwatersrand (ZA)
- Corresponding author
- Samouilhan, Tanya
- Venue
- South African Journal of Psychology
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2010-03
- Volume
- 40
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 74-89
- ISSN
- 0081-2463 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2117849665
- Cited by
- 33
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2025: 3 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 1 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 2.62
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- South African Journal of Psychology (publishedVersion, public-domain)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychology and Mental Health
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender Roles and Identity Studies
- Keywords
- mental illness beliefs, etiology of mental disorders, treatment beliefs, university students, depression, substance abuse, schizophrenia, anorexia nervosa, chemical imbalance, social factors, mental health knowledge
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