Christian Religious Conservatism and Help-Seeking Behavior

This study was designed to investigated the role of religious ideology in one's willingness or reluctance to seek professional psychotherapeutic assistance. The subjects consister of 220 members randomly selected from six different denominations: Baptist, Church of Christ, Methodist, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, and Unitarian. The major findings of the study were as follows: 1. HC Ss displayed significantly less personal recognition of need for psychotherapeutic help, less interpersonal openness and greater overall reluctance to seek professional psychological help than LC Ss. 2. There was no significant difference between HC and LC Ss in terms of sensitivity to stigmatization and confidence in the mental health profession and mental health professionals. 3. MC Ss scored lower in each of the five areas investigated than did either HC or LC Ss. It was concluded that individuals who are highly conservative in their religious beliefs may be more reluctant to admit that they have a psychological problem with someone else than individuals who subscribe to more moderate or liberal religious beliefs